


To Hate Your Neighbor

by nemophilistrises



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, AvaLance, Co-workers, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:15:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 21,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25430731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nemophilistrises/pseuds/nemophilistrises
Summary: Ava Sharpe is a workaholic who has spent her entire life keeping everyone at arm’s length. Her new neighbor, Sara Lance, is the opposite of everything Ava stands for; she’s chaotic, unprofessional, and always seems to be in places she shouldn’t be. As Sara barrels unexpectedly into her and disrupts her routine, can Ava manage to keep her distance or will her annoying neighbor manage to squirm into Ava’s life?--“Look, Sara was it? I’m exhausted, I don’t really want to make friends with my neighbors ever, especially chaotic ones, so could you please just let me go into my apartment?”Sara huffed, “Rude” she said before turning on her heels and stalking back to the entrance of her apartment.
Relationships: Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe
Comments: 64
Kudos: 213





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Updates should be around once a week, depending on the craziness of my schedule. If you think anything needs to be changed or anything, please let me know!
> 
> I wanted this to be a mostly light story but it does have some heavy moments when talking about pasts and such. I hope you enjoy. 
> 
> Anyhoo...here it is.

Ava Sharpe was not a dog person, she was perfectly happy with the low maintenance, yet clingy kitty that resided in her apartment, and sure dogs made great running partners but they were so annoying; they made noise, they shedded, and jumped on everything. That was why when she saw the little fluff ball running towards her, she was most certainly not pleased. It began to wiggle its butt and jump up onto her legs, causing muddy paw prints to mark her leggings.

She heard a breathless voice come in “I am so sorry, he usually doesn’t run like that.”

Ava looked up to reprimand the owner about the control of their dog and remind them that dog leash laws were there for a reason. The woman standing in front of her briefly tossed those thoughts from her mind. She was attractive, extremely, undeniably attractive. She was short, shorter than Ava at least, with blonde hair pulled up in a bun and bright blue eyes. Freckles spotted her face, leading down to muscular shoulders and chest. Defined biceps and muscular forearms led to long, dexterous fingers hosting an assortment of rings. Her legs, even covered in spandex leggings, looked lean and muscular.

“Hey.” The girl said “You listening?”

The tone of the girl caused Ava to fall out of her reverie and reminded her what exactly she wanted to say to the dog owner. Flushing, Ava replied “Yeah, you should work on keeping your dog under control.”

A slight frown settled onto the face of the woman in front of her. “Yeah well, you shouldn’t judge, he’s just puppy.”

“Puppy or not, you should either be able to keep him under control or leave him on a leash.” Ava admonished.

“He needs to run around, so what if I let him off for two seconds” The woman defended.

“What if someone was allergic to dogs?” Ava replied bitterly.

“You’re not” The woman said, slightly angrily.

“No, but…” Ava was about to keep arguing, but decided it wasn’t worth her limited energy, she sighed. “Yeah, okay.” Before turning around and heading back towards her apartment, running faster in this direction, in part to escape the infuriating dog owner.

The next evening Ava was at the grocery store having run out of eggs. She had just entered the produce isle when a crash sent her spinning around. A small blur of blonde had come whizzing around the corner and collided directly into her cart, sending several items toppling over.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” The woman said starting to straighten things up, before looking up to the owner of the cart. “You!” She exclaimed.

“I was going to say the same thing.” Ava said with a frown. “First your dog, now your cart? Can’t seem to keep control of anything.”

The smaller woman frowned. “What is your problem?”

“My problem!” Ava exclaimed. “You keep running into me, literally!”

“I said I was sorry!” The woman exclaimed.

“Fine, whatever, fine.” Ava said with a sigh, grabbing her cart and heading to the checkout.

Ava pulled up to her apartment building 15 minutes later, a few grocery bags in her hands. She set them down at her door step after walking the three flights to her apartment. While she was digging through her purse, she heard a soft bark and the jingling of keys, she looked up and saw down the hall someone opening the door to the apartment next to hers while holding a small dog. The woman looked up and their eyes met, Ava recognized her instantaneously. She heard a small “Fuck,” come from the other woman’s mouth before she walked down the hall towards Ava.

“Hey, so we’re neighbors.” She said as she finally got close enough.

“Yeah, I guess.” Ava said.

“Look I know we haven’t really had a great first or second meeting but can we just move on.”

Ava sighed, she couldn’t believe that the apartment next to hers was going to be filled by the rather annoying woman she had run into at the park and the grocery store.

“Yeah fine. I’m Ava.”

“I’m Sara” the woman said “And this is Jax” she said holding up the small fluff ball in her arms.

Ava nodded her head slightly, and returned to trying to locate her keys, but the woman seemed to want to keep talking.

“How long have you lived in Star City?” She asked. “I just moved here.”

“A while.” Ava replied.

“So, what do you do here?” Sara prodded.

“Look, Sara was it? I’m exhausted, I don’t really want to make friends with my neighbors ever, especially chaotic ones, so could you please just let me go into my apartment?”

Sara huffed “Rude” she said before turning on her heels and stalking back to the entrance of her apartment.

After entering her kitchen, Ava slid into a chair, poured herself a generous glass of red and massaged the headache that was starting at her temples. She hoped to god she wouldn’t have to deal with Sara in the near future.


	2. Chapter 2

Ava Sharpe never arrived late to work, no matter what time she was needed in. She considered punctuality one of the most important parts of professionalism, which was why she was glaring angrily at her office door at the moment. Her boss, Director Bennett, had told Ava that they were going to start working with a satellite organization - Ava couldn’t quite remember its name, Legend something? -to move their theoretical analysis to the field. As the assistant director, Ava of course would be spearheading the movement. Which brought her back to her current situation, waiting for the head of the satellite organization who was pushing on thirty minutes late to their meeting. Ava couldn’t really imagine what kind of boss would be late to a meeting, especially an introductory one, this person must be concerned about repercussions from the organization that would be employing them.

The door swung open with a bang, Ava glanced down at her watch, 28 minutes late. She looked up to give the person who entered her office a disapproving glare. She was met with bright blue eyes and a stubborn set jaw.

“Sara?” Ava choked out in disbelief.

“The one and only.” The woman winked before sliding into the chair in front of her.

“Why am I not surprised you’re a government drone?” The infuriating woman in front of her commented.

Ava sputtered. “What are you talking about? What are you doing here?”

Sara smirked “Polyblend pantsuit, desk job” She glanced around the office, before nodding as if reaffirming her previous statements. “And to answer your second question, I was hired here.”

Ava sent a glare her direction, “You are 28 minutes late. I cannot believe Director Bennett would hire such an irresponsible, unpredictable…”

“C’mon Ava, we’ve only met like three times.” The shorter woman defended. “You don’t really know those things.”

Ava was about to open her mouth to argue when she changed her mind. The woman in front of her would only antagonize her more. “As you hopefully know, I am Assistant Director Ava Sharpe of the Bureau of Temporal Analysis. We have hired your team on to help with field tests of new equipment we have been developing. Our organization is a proud front runner in predicting future global upheavals based on analysis of major historical events. Your team will be taking our analysis and implementing structural changes in… Sara?”

The woman in front of her had stood up and starting wandering her office, looking at the few mementos on her shelves and rearranging her organized bookshelf.

“Sara! Seriously I was trying to explain what exactly we do here.”

“Ya, ya” the shorter woman said. “I’ve heard the spiel before. When do we get started?”

Ava had to physically restrain herself from rolling her eyes.

“Sara, we need to make a plan first.”

“Cool, cool. I’ve gotta check in with my team first, if I leave them alone for too long they cause mayhem, I’ll be back in an hour or so. Yeah?”

Before Ava could reply, Sara had left the room.

Ava gathered her breath before dialing her boss.

“Ava! Good to hear from you, how was your meeting with Sara Lance?” Director Bennett greeted cheerfully over the phone.

Ava wanted to say: Disastrous! How could I possibly work with someone like Sara Lance? She is completely ridiculous, annoying, and unbelievably irresponsible.

Instead Ava said tentatively “It went fine, I’m just wondering if maybe her team isn’t the right fit for our organization?”

Director Bennett chuckled “Ms. Lance does indeed have a penchant for unusual habits, but her team always gets the job done.”

Ava sighed, the headache from the night before returning with strength and Ava thought she might have an idea what caused it.

“Sir, what exactly do you have in mind for her team? You were kind of vague on the phone yesterday.”

“Don’t worry too much about it Ms. Sharpe, as we talked about yesterday, you will be spearheading the project however I have hired someone else on as the consultant for Ms. Lance and her team.”

Ava let out a deep breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Thank you, Director.”

Sara made it back to Ava’s office only 15 minutes later than she promised. She looked slightly worn down, but Ava couldn’t care less.

“Ms. Lance, I see you have returned.”

Sara shot her a grin “It’s Ms. Lance now is it?”

“Well, yes, we never were properly introduced so I only just learned your surname.”

“What should I call you then Mrs. Assistant Director Sharpe?” Sara joked.

“Ms. But no, just Assistant Director Sharpe is fine.” Ava responded.

“Aww c’mon Ava, I was messing around. We are going to be working together and living next door you’re going to have to get used to me eventually.”

Ava sighed for the umpteenth time that day.

The confident exterior of the woman in front of her flickered for an instant, Ava thought she had imagined it. Sara replied to Ava’s sigh “Don’t worry, I won’t be working with you too often, you just have to deal with me today.” She winked at her last statement.

Sara settled into the chair across from Ava’s desk to begin to discuss her and her team’s role within Ava’s organization. Their meeting lasted almost the rest of the day, Ava and Sara did not agree on a single strategy or method, their arguments usually ended with Sara excusing herself from Ava’s office and returning half an hour later. At the end of the day they decided it would be better if they let the consultant deal with creating the schedule and strategies based on input that Ava and Sara would be submitting separately.

Ava lay in bed that night, her mind drifted unconsciously to the infuriating Sara Lance, their interactions had been few but for some reason she couldn’t take her mind of the woman. Ava turned and groaned into her pillow, how long was she going to have to deal with the unbending will of her neighbor and now colleague? Why did this woman annoy her so much? Sleep did not come easily for Assistant Director Ava Sharpe that night.


	3. Chapter 3

True to Sara’s word, Ava did not see the other woman at work frequently. She did however see her at her apartment building with regularity.

Two days after Ava and Sara’s rather disastrous meeting at work, Ava saw the woman again. Ava was coming back from her morning run when she was greeted with a grumpy and disheveled Sara Lance still clad in pajamas with a full cup of coffee in one hand and blonde hair sticking out at odd angles. Ava had blinked a few times before stilling in front of the other woman, wiping sweaty hair from her forehead.

“I didn’t really peg you as a morning person Ms. Lance” the assistant director had commented, slightly breathily due to her run.

Sara had grunted something incomprehensible before dipping her head towards her pup as he sniffed around on the grass outside their apartment building.

Ava had been amused by the fact she was right, and Sara Lance was indeed not a morning person, as evidenced by the general demeanor of the other woman.

The next morning, Ava jogged up to her apartment and was once again greeted by a groggy and morning-laden Sara Lance. The woman was dressed in her pajamas and fluffy slippers, but this time sporting a messy bun on top of her head and a slightly more composed demeanor due, Ava thought, to the partially empty cup of coffee in her hand.

As Ava arrived within close proximity of Sara, the smaller woman shook the leash of her dog almost angrily before saying:

“Look Ms. Assistant Director Sharpe, a leash.”

“Good morning to you too, Ms. Lance.” Ava responded.

They continued to run into each other in the morning. Every day, a few words were exchanged, sometimes about the varying state of Sara’s caffeination or Ava’s annoyingly consistent routine.

On this particular morning, Ava arrived right as Sara was about to return to the building. Sara glanced up and seemed to be taken aback by the taller woman in front of her, pausing to stare at Ava, her eyes wandering over the flushed face, spandex leggings and exposed shoulders of the assistant director. Ava looked at Sara questioningly, unsure if the woman was finally caffeinated enough to realize that she did indeed own something other than her “poly-blend pantsuit”. The look Ava gave brought Sara out of her reverie.

“Ava!” the blonde woman exclaimed “I thought I wasn’t going to see you this morning.”  
“I wouldn’t be too concerned.” Ava responded, entering the building behind Sara. As Ava followed Sara and Jax onto the staircase, the taller woman noticed Sara’s pajama pants.

“Are those SpongeBob SquarePants pajama pants, Ms. Lance?” Ava asked with a laugh.

“Don’t judge!” Sara protested “Children’s pajamas are much cheaper than adults and so much cooler.”

“Cooler, right, that’s how I would describe those.” Ava responded sarcastically, still chuckling.

“I bet you wear a matching white striped set,” Sara declared “Mine are at least interesting.”

“Ah yes, interesting, that’s what all the men say when they see those.”

Sara stopped on the stairs turning to face Ava “Did you just assume I regularly have men in my apartment, Ms. Assistant Director Sharpe?”

Ava looked suitably embarrassed before shrugging “I wouldn’t be surprised,” she admitted “but you’re right I shouldn’t make any assumptions.”

Sara looked like she was going to say something, before she turned back around and continued walking up the stairs.

“I’m surprised you even know who SpongeBob is Ava” Sara commented, returning to their previous, less personal conversation.

“I did have a childhood Ms. Lance,” Ava said, defensively.

“Really? I kinda thought you just popped out all suited up, probably with a calculator in your hand.”

Ava rolled her eyes. “No Ms. Lance, I did not.”

“I’m just saying I wouldn’t be surprised.” Sara commented as the two mounted the last stairs to their floor.

“I’ll see you later today at the meeting, Ms. Lance.” Ava replied as they turned opposite directions to head back to their respective apartments.

“What meeting?” Sara asked.

Ava whipped around “I have been sending emails about this meeting all week! It’s the first one with the entire crew and…” Ava stopped as she noticed Sara giggling slightly. “You know about it.”

Sara nodded “Yep. I’ll be there.”

“It starts at eleven,” Ava said looking accusatorially at Sara, “That means be there by eleven.”

“Eleven thirty, got it,” Sara responded as she turned around and walked to her apartment door.

“Eleven, Ms. Lance, I said eleven!” Ava called after Sara’s retreating back.

The shorter woman shot a grin back over her shoulder telling Ava that, yes, she knew it started at 11 but there was no way she was going to be there at that time.

Ava sighed before turning back towards her apartment, not sure if she was ready for the long day ahead of her.


	4. Chapter 4

The meeting was almost as disastrous as Ava Sharpe had predicted. Sara had shown up forty-five minutes late with her dog in tow. One of the employees had been severely allergic and had to be rushed to the hospital causing the meeting to start even later. Sara had then proceeded to undermine everything that Ava said, bringing up counterpoints or injecting some odd, almost flirty comment. Ava was sure that Sara was purposely messing with her because she was convinced no one could possibly annoy her that much without trying. The almost civil coexistence they had crafted with their morning meetings at the apartment had shriveled within minutes, leading to voice-raised, coworker-flinching arguments. Ava had given up an hour or two into the meeting, not able to find the energy to keep arguing her points, she sunk into her seat and let the people around her do the planning. The meeting finished at three in the afternoon, leaving Ava with a pile of plans she need to sort through, none of which really worked in the context of their project. She settled into the office work: typing, rewriting, and trying to come up with some semblance of a plan based on what the meeting had produced. In the corner of her eyes she glimpsed changing shadows, indicating the swift passing of the afternoon as she shuffled papers.

Hours later, Ava Sharpe was deep in thought when she heard a light knock on her door before Sara’s blonde head peeked in.

“You eat pizza right Ava?” The woman asked half-jokingly and half-hesitantly.

Ava looked up from her desk, exasperated at the other woman’s presence. “Not now Ms. Lance, I’m going over the reports from the day.”

“Ava it’s seven o’clock, you need to eat dinner.”

The taller woman was surprised, she looked at her watch to verify. It read 7:14, she hadn’t realized that much time at passed. She looked back up at Sara, pursing her lips angrily before asking, “Why are you even here, Ms. Lance, why do you care if I eat dinner?”

Sara looked slightly guilty before replying “I felt bad, I know I made your day difficult, so I thought I could make it up with pizza? No?” Sara shot her a sheepish smile. Ava sighed before sarcastically responding, “Sara Lance feeling bad, wow, the end of the world must be coming.”

Sara let out a snort “Ha! Ava Sharpe sarcastic, the world really must be ending. So, pizza?”

“Fine, but you can’t stay long.” Ava finally acquiesced.

“No problem!” The blonde woman responded before sidling up to a wall of Ava’s office and dropping to the floor, legs crossed, pizza in her lap.

“What are you doing Ms. Lance?” Ava asked accusatorially.

“Eating pizza,” the shorter woman shot her a grin.

“On the floor?”

“Yep! It’s the best place to eat pizza.”

Ava sighed about to protest when her stomach let out a gurgle of hunger. She crossed the room and settled onto the floor next to Sara. At the movement from the assistant director, Sara popped open the lid of the pizza box taking in a deep breath of the cheesy goodness.

“What kind did you get?” Ava asked. Sara scooted the box onto the ground between the two women, flipping the lid all the way down and exposing a mushroom, olive, and basil adorned pie.

“Not too bad,” Ava admitted, reaching down to take a slice. “I do prefer Hawaiian, but this will do.”

“Hawaiian??” Sara sputtered, looking distressed. “As in pineapple on pizza? Ava, no, just no.”

Ava took a big bite of her slice chewing before shrugging and saying, “Sweet, salty and savory pair well together and round out the flavor of the pizza.”

“But its pineapple, on pizza! Ava, I don’t think you understand how upsetting this is for me, we can no longer be friends.” Sara declared as she picked up her own piece.

“I didn’t think we were friends, Ms. Lance”

“Fine, acquaintances, we can no longer be acquaintances, Ava.”

“That would probably make my life easier” Ava said through a slight smile.

“Hey! How rude” the smaller woman exclaimed “I am a very fun person, you would be lucky to be my acquaintance.”

Ava snorted, “Doubtful.” She reached for another slice before continuing “Also you can’t retract being acquaintances, it literally just means we know each other and unless you have a time ship and can go back and not move to Star City, we will always be acquaintances.”

“Getting all technical on me, what a surprise.”

Ava shot Sara a faux-irritated look, before it dissolved back into a smile.

“Not a very good actor, I see.” Sara commented.

“I’m just a very honest person.” Ava responded looking a little too proud for Sara’s liking.

“Ah and very modest too,” Sara said laughing.

“You are one to talk about modesty, Ms. Lance”

“Sarcasm again! Ava, do you have a sense of humor?” Sara exclaimed.

“I am human,” Ava replied, still sporting a small smile.

“I wouldn’t have guessed.”

The two fell into a comfortable silence, finishing their respective slices of pizza. After finishing hers, Sara she reached down to grab the biggest, cheesiest slice, when Ava shot out her hand and grabbed the slice out of Sara’s reach.

“That was mine!” Sara protested.

“Not anymore,” Ava proclaimed, smiling and taking a huge bite from the slice.

“You can’t just take something that’s mine and make it yours! Didn’t your parents teach you any manners?” Sara gave the other woman a joking shove, before realizing something was wrong.

The assistant director’s eyes had clouded over, filling with a stormy gray color. The smile had dropped from her face and it had been replaced with a coldness. The fragile truce that seemed to have been forming between the two women shattered in an instant.

“You can leave now Ms. Lance” Ava replied snappily.

“Ava, I’m sorry I didn’t mean anything by it, I was joking.” Sara hastily explained.

“Just leave Ms. Lance.”

Sara slowly extracted herself from the floor, glancing one more time at Ava on the floor, a box of half eaten pizza next to her.

“I’m really sorry Ava,” Sara whispered as she exited through the doorway, leaving behind a heavy silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I completely agree with Sara, pineapple on pizza is unacceptable. Also, I know Ava’s reaction seems a little blown out of proportion but you will learn backstories eventually and it will make more sense, hopefully :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has references to self-doubt, alcohol, and drunkenness.

Ava Sharpe did not see Sara the next morning at their usual meeting place. Ava had a sneaking suspicion that Sara had purposefully avoided that location in light of the incidences of the day before. She couldn’t help but feel equally grateful and annoyed with the woman. Despite not seeing Sara in the morning, her mind kept wandering back to their dinner last night, she couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty, she knew she had overreacted. Sara didn’t know she was opening a can of worms when she had brought up Ava’s parents and hadn’t meant anything by it - _right?_ Ava’s mind began spinning, but before she could fall down the rabbit hole of self-deprecating thoughts, she shoved all those emerging thoughts into whatever deep recesses of her mind they had squirmed out of. She threw herself into her day’s work, reveling in the numbness that accompanied the monotony of paper-shuffling.

Ava went home early that night, at least early by Ava’s standards. It was a Friday night and she knew she had a few things she needed to get done at home. She did a thorough cleaning of her kitchen and living room, sweeping and vacuuming the already spotless place. She cleaned out Gary’s - her cat’s - litter box and fed him before pulling leftovers from the fridge to make her own dinner. Ava sat in silence eating her dinner cold at the kitchen counter. She never bothered to sit at the small dining room table given that it was just her, always.

After washing, drying and putting away her dishes, Ava settled onto the couch for an evening with a glass of wine and a book written by a psychologist that explored the psyche of serial killers. It was one of the few personal pleasures that Ava allowed herself to partake in, preferring - whether by necessity or desire she was unsure - to spend her time working. Gary jumped up onto the couch to join her settling into her lap and letting Ava pet him whenever she wasn’t flipping pages or sipping her wine.

Ava didn’t realize how late it was getting until she found herself having trouble reading, the late spring light that streamed from her windows had waned leaving her in semi-darkness. Ava briefly considered just flipping on a light switch and continuing to read, she had gotten to a really interesting part that was explaining a historical study done on serial killers’ brain around a time when phrenology was still credited. She flipped through a few pages to see how much longer the chapter was and then looked at her watch, deciding it was already late and she should turn in for the night.

Ava had finally managed to drift off after quieting her overactive mind when she heard loud voices and music penetrate through whatever sleepiness she had managed to achieve. For several minutes Ava tried to use her pillow to shut out the noise before deciding it was useless and angrily getting out of bed. She pulled on her robe and slippers and stalked down the hall, certain about who was making noise at this hour. She didn’t even pause outside the door before knocking sharply twice.

The door swung open to reveal Sara Lance with a beer in her hand, dressed in tight black jeans, and a sleeveless shirt. Ava paused momentarily, eyes stuck on those arms.

“Ava!” She cried out. Ava’s attention was brought back to the problem at hand.

“Ms. Lance, this noise in unacceptable, if you cannot keep it quiet I will inform management.”

Sara took a swig from the drink in her hand before arguing, in a slightly slurred voice, “It’s like 11 on a Friday, noise is acceptable, also what are you, a very hot woman, doing alone and at home on a weekend night?”

Ava looked annoyed “First of all, how do you know I’m alone, second of all…” she stopped because Sara had grabbed a piece of her hair and had started swirling it in her fingers.

“You know I’ve never seen your hair down its very pretty,” The shorter woman said looking at her hair with wide, innocent eyes. “And so soft…”

“Ms. Lance are you drunk?”

Sara leaned forward conspiratorially, “Very.”

“Also, I was right about your pajamas.” Sara said eyes squinting, staring at Ava’s clothes.

“What?” Ava asked momentarily confused.

“Your pajamas, I was right.” Sara stated looking back at Ava’s face, eyes blinking rapidly.

Ava sighed, of course this is what Sara would bring up. “That is an exaggeration Ms. Lance”

“Matching, button up. I don’t know I think I nailed it Ava”, she said almost singing the last couple of words.

“First off you said they were white and striped, second off I’m not here about my pajamas.”

“Light blue, white striped” Sara took a moment here, trying hard to pronounce “striped” correctly before continuing “what’s the difference, you’d look better without any on anyways.” Sara leaned in again a smirk gracing her features.

Ava blanched slightly. “Ms. Lance that is not appropriate.”

“Awww, c’mon Ava loosen up just a little bit, it’s a Friday. We’ve got beer and music.” At that moment a beautiful, dark girl with winged eyeliner joined Sara at the door. “Sara where have you beennn……” she slurred.

“Zarrrriiii, Ava’s here.”

“Ava as in” her voice dropped to a whisper “Our boss Ava who you…” Sara cut Zari off.

“Yes Zari, as in THAT Ava.”

Zari turned so that she was facing Ava and put on a show of sobriety.

“Ms. Sharpe, Ms. Assistant Director Sharpe, what a pleasure to see you in our home, my home, Sara’s home.”

“You must be Ms. Tomaz?” Ava replied, putting together the first name with the file of the woman who would be working for her.

“Indeed, what brings you here at this hour.” Zari said sporting an exaggerated gentleman-y British accent.

“I was just asking Ms. Lance to keep the music down; my apartment is next door and…”

“And your boyfriend doesn’t like noise” Zari said nodding in agreement, convinced.

“No Ms. Tomaz.”

“And your boyfriend doesn’t want to party?” Zari looked very confused.

“I’m not really the boyfriend type, Ms. Tomaz.” Sara’s eyebrows shot upwards and she looked at Ava curiously.  
Zari's eyes popped open. “Sara” she said whispering to the short blonde woman, but loudly enough that Ava could hear. “Sara!”

“Yes Zari” Sara said, eyes finally leaving Ava and returning to her friend.

Zari leaned into Sara’s ear, uncomfortably close, still sporting her loud whisper. “I just asked our boss about her dating life. I assumed she had a boyfriend! Sara does that make me homophobic, Sara I don’t want to be homophobic.” Zari started crying. Sara patted her back comfortingly, “Zari go drink some water” the last word coming out slightly wrong due to Sara’s drunkenness.

Zari started sniffling and wandered back into the room.

“Ummm…. Sorry about that.” Sara said, “She’s usually pretty cool, but she’s pretty drunk right now.” She looked up at Ava and upon seeing the woman staring at her, stumbled a little.

Sara righted herself, propping herself in the door and working very hard to keep her sentences coherent and her mind clear “I am sorry we were keeping you and your… partner up.”

“It’s just me, Ms. Lance.” Ava said.

“Well in that case…” Sara looked almost expectantly at Ava, before the taller woman interrupted.

“Thanks for inviting me Ms. Lance, but I must decline your offer, do please keep the noise down though.” Ava said stepping back to turn around.

“Ava wait.” The taller woman stopped at the serious tone that Sara had. The shorter woman rubbed her forehead as if she could sober herself up by doing it. “Now isn’t really the best time to say this, and I know I’m the last person you want to talk to but…” Sara took a deep breath before continuing, “but really I didn’t mean anything, if you’re like me at all and I think you might be you’ve got a little voice in your head telling you that everything you do is shit, then you’ve got to know it’s not. It really was nothing, you know I say things I don’t mean all the time and like I know you don’t really like me at all, which I totally understand because like I don’t really either, I mean like me, but you know I just want to say I don’t not, like you I mean, not like that just generally even though you find me annoying. I don’t not like you. You’re not a bad person.” Everything came out of Sara’s tongue in a tumble almost as if it was one very long word and Ava only really got fifty percent of what Sara was saying, but she understood the gist of it.

Knowing she probably wouldn’t remember the details of the night anyways Ava replied. “Thank you, Sara, I appreciate it, really.”

Sara’s face lite up in a huge smile, then she plopped down onto the floor in the doorway, and continued nursing her beer staring up at Ava.

Ava sighed, before asking reluctantly “Can I help you back into your place, Ms. Lance?”

“Yes Indeed-y,” the drunk woman on the floor replied.

Ava leaned down and swung an arm under Sara pulling her up. Sara looked over at Ava, this was the first time they had actually touched and Sara could feel the warmth of Ava and her defined muscles even through the robe and pajamas. Ava started moving into Sara’s apartment when she realized the other woman was doing nothing to help her. Ava looked back at Sara and the movement caused her robe and her pajama top to stretch open revealing the upper expanse of her chest. At that motion, Sara’s eyes had dropped from the nape of Ava’s neck to the exposed flesh of her upper chest.

“Ms. Lance, c’mon let’s get you in.” Ava said softly.

Ava thought she heard Sara murmur something along the lines of “Oh, I am so gay”. She looked surprisingly at the smaller woman before shaking her head, knowing she had misheard.

Ava entered Sara’s apartment to find a tastefully decorated yet currently trashed place, she glanced around and knew it was full of her soon-to-be employees aka Sara’s team, so she quickly dropped the small woman onto a nearby couch, passed her an unopened water bottle that had been rolling on the floor and exited swiftly. She thought she heard a small voice call out “Thanks Ava” as she disappeared down the hall to try to get sleep, knowing there was no way the noise was going to decrease.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha some slight gay panic on Sara's part. Also, I really appreciate comments, they can be about whatever, so if you have a sec or anything drop one in! - L


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am rewatching LOT season 3 right now and folks, the sexual tension between Sara and Ava is REAL, I’m dying. Sorry, I know that was non-story related but I needed to let off that steam.

Despite what had happened the night before, Ava still got up early and went into work. As she made the familiar trek to her office, Ava realized that she couldn’t remember the last day that she hadn’t gone into work, even if it was only for a few hours. Her job was a part of her routine, it was a part of her. She pulled into the empty parking lot, and pondered what other people did on weekends with so much free time. She knew a couple coworkers who traveled on their weekends but always went with their friends or partner, she knew a few more people, also coworkers, who had kids and spent their weekends entertaining their spawn. As she settled into the office, Ava came to the decision that most people used weekends to socialize and that the reason she worked during the weekend was because she loved her job and didn’t have anyone she needed to catch up with. Gary was really the main person - cat - in her life, and he definitely didn’t require an entire day’s worth of attention. Ava hummed thoughtfully before diving into work.

At around three in the afternoon an exhaustion headache crept its way in, preventing Ava from doing anything productive. Reluctantly, she closed down her computer and filed the paperwork she had been working in. She stretched lazily, looking around the office as if to find something else to do to postpone returning to an empty apartment.

Her apartment was, however, not empty. She was greeted at her door by Gary who wove between her legs and rubbed against her pants leg. Ava dropped her work bag on the counter and settled into the couch clicking on a documentary about the United States prison system and racial inequality, hoping that her exhaustion would ease with relaxation. Half an hour in she looked down at Gary in her lap, “This isn’t quite what I had in mind for a relaxing show, I’m glad I’m watching it though.” She told her cat as she stroked his fur. Her hand came away covered in cat hair and it reminded Ava of the pile of laundry she needed to do, she paused the documentary and gently extracted Gary from her lap.

With her hamper on her hip, Ava made the trek to the basement where the laundry room resided in her apartment building. She came downstairs to find one Sara Lance sitting on top of a dryer wearing huge sunglasses, a polka dot bathing suit top and shorts cinched at her hips that fell to mid-thigh. However, Ava was less distracted by the absurdity of the outfit that Sara Lance was sporting and more distracted by the fact that Sara had abs. Ava began chewing on her lower lip unconsciously as her eyes scanned the exposed skin. Ava knew Sara was strong but seeing her reaffirmed the knowledge; muscular arms, shoulders, legs, and boy did she want to run her hands along that exposed abdomen…As soon as the thought popped into Ava’s head, her eyes shot wide open and her head jerked up, worried for a brief, ridiculous moment that Sara could read her thoughts. The woman sitting on the dryer did not notice the odd looks Ava was shooting her way, she was nursing a hangover and still trying to put together all the pieces from the night before.

After a few moments, the surprise and panic ebbed and Ava finally seemed to take in Sara’s ensemble.

“Dear god Ms. Lance, what is that outfit?”She blurted, breaking the silence in the room and bringing Sara’s attention to her.

Sara shrugged looking unperturbed “Laundry day.” She took a long look at Ava before asking, “And why do you look like you’re going to a formal?”

Ava shrugged, mimicking Sara “Laundry day.” Sara looked confusedly at her. “I get my suits dry cleaned. All my other stuff is here, plus I went into to work this morning.” Ava elaborates.

Sara was about to comment on the fact that Ava went into work on a Saturday, but something seemed to register in her mind and she dropped her sunglasses to the tip of her nose, piercing blue eyes meeting Ava’s blue-grey ones.

“I saw you last night.” It was half a statement and half a question.

“Yes, you did.” Ava replied.

Sara leaned forward so that her elbows were propped on her knees “You came into my apartment” this time it’s posed more tentatively, it’s more of a question.

“Yes, I did.” Ava replied, turning around so that she could put her clothes into a washing machine, definitely not because Sara had exposed more of her strong, freckled chest.

“Hmmm…” the smaller woman said. “Do I want to know what I said to you?”

Ava chuckled a little. “Honestly nothing too bad, Ms. Tomaz on the other hand…”

Sara groaned, pushing her sunglasses back up her nose as if the thought of Zari talking to Ava had increased whatever headache she was already experiencing. “Oh no, you met Zari?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Ava joked.

“She’s a good one I promise, she’s just not the most… tactful drunk person.”

“It’s okay, I could tell. She was just curious about my personal life and then very worried about being homophobic.”

Sara looked up, recognition flashing in her eyes. “I remember that,” She tried to search her memory for what caused Zari to be worried about being homophobic, what had Ava said? Sara sat up all the way and popped her sunglasses onto her head, deep in thought. She let her eyes roam Ava; long legs in dark grey slacks, a button up shirt with rolled up sleeves and a few more buttons undone than Ava would have at work. She struggled to bring the memory back. Her mind finally clicked as her eyes lingered on Ava’s just exposed collar bone, recalling the conversation that Zari had initiated.

“Sara…? Are you okay? Do I have something on my clothes?”

Sara was jolted out of her daze, realizing she had been staring at Ava for far longer than comfortable. “Sorry, just thinking…wait did you call me Sara?”

A light pink brushed the edges of Ava’s ears. “No, I mean yes, but not purposefully. Ms. Lance.” The name was added as a courtesy.

Sara chuckled at Ava’s sudden switch into professionalism. “So, working on a weekend Ms. Sharpe, I am not surprised.”

Ava shrugged, “Career is important.”

Sara added, “To you.”

Ava almost starting arguing before she remembered that she was talking to Sara Lance and an argument with her would get Ava nowhere. “To me.”

“You know Ava there are other things besides work.”

“I do realize that Ms. Lance.”

They stood in silence for a minute.

Sara cleared her throat nodding her head at Ava’s shirt. “Do you have a cat?”

Ava looked down and noticed the patch of dark hair on her white shirt where Gary had been curled up earlier. “Ha, yeah. Gary, he’s a bit of a shedder.”

“Oh, Jax too! You have no idea how many times I’ve ruined a formal look with dog hair.”

“Part of that is definitely because Jax has no boundaries.” Ava remarked with a smile.

“Hey I take offense with that. He is a very well-trained boy.”

Ava laughed “The first time I met him he literally jumped on me. Not really what I would consider well trained, but I guess like owner like dog.”

“Now I’m really offended.” Sara protested, a fake pout gracing her delicate features. “I need to meet Gary and then we can even the playing field.”

Ava looked at her questioningly.

“You know so I can make wildly untrue accusations about Gary and then chalk it all up to the owner. Ooooohhh, I bet Gary wears bow ties all the time and has a cat job. Maybe he works at a Meow-xican restaurant or as a Cat-shier.”

Ava snorted, “Wow, those were really bad Ms. Lance.”

“You’ve got to be kitten! They were wonderful.” Sara said with a grin.

“Oh god, they’re getting worse.”

“You’re making me hiss-terical, Ava.”

“Paw-don me for not enjoying your puns.”

Sara gaped at Ava for a second. “Yes!” She exclaimed “I have turned you.”

Ava rolled her eyes slightly before saying, “Well I’m heading back up to the apartment before I get inundated with more terrible puns.”

“Partially by your own fault” Sara interjected.

Ava shrugged before nodding in reluctant agreement.

"I may see you here in an hour when I switch out my things?”

Sara leaned down and looked at the dryer screen. “Probably not, this thing’ll be done in a few minutes.”

“Okay, well I guess I’ll see you around then Ms. Lance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I’m not thrilled with this chapter, sorry all. Also, after writing this chapter I realized it was kind of weird to name Ava’s cat after Gary… but I’ve committed. Oh well.
> 
> The documentary that Ava was watching is based on the Netflix documentary, 13th, it covers some really important topics and is very well done, but it is hard to watch. 
> 
> And I just had to include Sara’s abs because…it is necessary. Definitely. Next chapter Sara might get a look at Ava’s :))
> 
> \- L


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know in LOT Sara’s all cool all the time and chill and not usually stunned by women, but I feel like there would definitely be moments where she is taken aback especially by Ava. So, a little OOC Sara, but I guess this is all OOC Sara and just my mind’s Sara. Here we go.  
> -L

Ava did have a regular gym, but due to her work hours and her morning runs she only made it in a few times every week. That day, Ava decided it was a good time to go in, she wasn’t going to the office until the afternoon and Sunday’s were usually quiet. When she arrived, there were only two other cars in the parking lot, confirming Ava’s recollection of Sunday’s customary calmness. She flashed her gym pass at a slightly grumpy looking front desk employee, the only person who seemed to be there. Ava made it to the woman’s locker room and dropped her stuff into a cubby, noticing there was only one other bag in the place.

The gym floor was empty as Ava began her stretches; reaching up to the sky, shifting her weight back and forth, working through both static and dynamic moves. She had moved onto the floor, legs stretched in front of her reaching for her toes, when she noticed two sneakered feet in the edge of her vision. She looked up at the person standing in front of her.

“What is this, Ms. Lance, four days in a row?”

Sara shot her a grin, “You just can’t get rid of me, can you?”

Ava chuckled “I guess not. I didn’t realize you used this gym.”

“I’m fairly new, but then again I’m fairly new to the city in general.”

Ava nodded, standing up “True.” She responded before heading over to the rowing machine, leaving Sara to watch her walk away. Ava spent a bit of time on the rowing machine, stationary bike, and few others, warming herself up before moving to the place that was the reason she used this specific gym. It was a separate room full of mats, punching bags, and dummies; a dedicated sparring, martial arts, and kickboxing room.

She wasn’t even surprised when she walked in to find Sara there. The woman seemed to have a knack for tracking Ava down. Sara was in the middle of the floor, moving through motions as if she was accompanying a partner. Her body followed lean and precise patterns, cutting through the air. Ava was sure that whatever imaginary foe Sara was fighting would’ve long been taken out by the quick punches and high kicks. Sara’s movements brought her close to Ava and she stopped as she noticed the taller woman. At the newly shortened distance, Ava could see the sweat beginning to bead on her forehead.

“Ms. Lance, I didn’t know you sparred.”

“Yep. Stress relief, you want to go a round?”

Ava shrugged, it was better than any punching bag or established form. She followed Sara back to the middle of the mat, each of them taking up a fighting stance as they arrived in the center. Their movements began slowly, as they tested out each other’s reflexes and responses. Neither of them was aiming to disarm or incapacitate the other, they were simply enjoying the natural flow they found. Ava moved swiftly into an offensive role pushing Sara back with a quick combination of punches and kicks, as Sara reached the edge of the mat she shifted into offense, and Ava fell quickly and easily into defensive, blocking and dodging Sara’s clean attacks. If someone had entered the room at the moment it would have been difficult to tell whether the two of them were fighting or dancing. They were working together more than working against the other. They weren’t even attempting to come in contact with the other and neither of them were analyzing or planning their moves. Everything was about discovering the other’s capabilities, about the tension of the near touches and the electricity they felt as they spun around each other. As they established an understanding of the other, their movements sped up and increased in boldness and power. They were no longer partners, but still not opponents. Their breath quickly became heavy and with the practiced ease of two people who had known each other much longer than the two of them had, they relaxed at the same time. They glanced at each other, panting and sweating profusely, before moving to the side of the mat to take a drink of water. After taking a deep swig from her bottle, Ava grabbed the edge of her shirt pulling it up to wipe her face with the hem. Sara thought briefly she had simply died and gone straight to heaven because Ava’s abdomen was now exposed, revealing a toned set of abs and a v leading into her leggings. Sara’s heart rate and respiration rate skyrocketed and it had nothing to do with the intense exercise.

“You alright there, Ms. Lance?” Ava asked noticing the fast breathing of the smaller woman.

“Yep. Totally.” Sara said, eyes sweeping from Ava’s stomach to her face. They were both flushed, hair escaping from their respective hairdos. Ava couldn’t help but notice that Sara’s freckles were popping out from the exertion and that her eyes seemed brighter in contrast with the pink skin.

“I’m ready whenever you are.” Ava said, trying to distract herself. Sara nodded and followed Ava back onto the mat. This time they jumped directly into a classic fight, aiming to disable the other. Their movements were still clean and smooth, but with a more vicious edge. They were evenly matched, both pushing the other to their limits. They continued in that manner until Sara twisted her body skillfully away from Ava and accompanied the spin with a few quick jabs. Ava, distracted by the punches, didn’t notice Sara’s foot that swept behind her ankle. Ava slammed down onto her back and Sara moved swiftly to pin the woman down, knees straddling the taller woman’s hips and hands gripping her wrists to the ground. In this position, their faces were inches from each other and the pieces of Sara’s hair that had fallen from her ponytail brushed against Ava’s face. Their eyes met and they could feel the tickle of the others’ breath on their own face.

After a moment of staring into each other’s eyes, bodies flushed against each other, panting, they realized the intimacy of the position they were in and scrambled up quickly.

They stood in tense silence for a moment before Ava spoke.

“That was one hell of a move Ms. Lance.”

“My ex taught it to me. She actually taught me most of what I know.” Ava glanced up, almost positive that the pronoun Sara used was feminine.

“She must’ve been good.”

“Yeah she was.” Sara had a slight faraway look as she talked about her ex, but Ava didn’t notice because this time she was certain that the pronoun Sara had used when referring to her ex was feminine.

“Do you want to continue?” Ava asked, slightly taken aback by the new knowledge she had of Sara.

They carried on, their sparring sometimes resembled a classic fight, but most of the time they simply reveled in the push and pull of their movements, in the ease and beauty of the art they were making.

It didn’t take long for both of their bodies to become tired and sore, so they gathered their things and began wandering back to the locker rooms where the cubbies were.

On the way over, Ava asked “How long have you been doing martial arts?”

“Since I was a kid, my dad is…was a cop and he started my sister and I on basics at a young age.” Ava shot Sara a slightly concerned look. “He’s… retired.” Sara clarified, with something resembling indecision. “Though I really got into it around the time my ex and I started dating.”

Ava nodded once. “I started studying martial arts seriously when I was in college, but I learned basic defense when I was a teen.” Their conversation halted as they reached the locker room and split up to shower and change.

Their showers took roughly the same time and it wasn’t long before they were standing next to each other again, packing up their bags, wet hair dripping patterns into their respective shirts. Sara turned to Ava, taking her in.

“If you ever need a partner again, hit me up.”

“I might take you up on that, Ms. Lance, not many people can keep up with me.” Ava replied, turning to face Sara.

“Oh, is that right Ava.” Sara said laughing at Ava’s self-praise.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that, I just was… I just meant it was fun sparring with you.”

Sara’s face broke out in a smile before reaching out, her hand palm up. Ava looked at her, confusion dotting her features, before placing her own hand in Sara’s. Sara started laughing again, “Give me your phone goof.”

Ava turned red, retracting her hand quickly, leaving a burning path, “Oh, sorry… wait why?”

“If we’re going to spar again I’m going to need to be able to text you, though we do seem to have a tendency to run into each other everywhere we go.”

Ava nodded, still bright red with embarrassment and fished her phone out of her bag, not meeting Sara’s eyes as she dropped her unlocked phone into the palm of the shorter woman’s hand. She watched Sara type a few things into the phone before dropping it back into Ava’s hand.

“There we go.”

Sara grabbed her bag and moved to the door of the locker room, as she was leaving she shot finger guns and a wink at Ava. The red that had been slowly leaving Ava’s face made its appearance once again.

—

Ever since Sara had put her number into Ava’s phone, Ava noticed herself glancing at her messages more frequently. The only bubble in the thread between the two of them so far was the text Sara had sent herself “Damn Sara you are so cool, I’m so glad you gave me your number.” She had labeled herself as Sara “the sexy neighbor” Lance in Ava’s phone and Ava hadn’t bothered to change it because it wasn’t worth the effort and it wasn’t completely false per se. Ava knew logically if she was really spending this much time staring at her phone, she may as well just text the other woman. However, every time she thought about sending Sara something, she was stopped by the worry that Sara only wanted Ava to text her to plan a sparring session and Ava didn’t have the time to make it to the gym until that coming weekend. Plus, Sara hadn’t texted her either, so the other woman obviously wanted to avoid Ava as much as possible. The fact that she hadn’t talked to Sara much in the last few days corroborated that belief in Ava’s mind. They had continued running into each other in their usual morning spot, but only a few words were exchanged. Sara was always half a sleep and Ava was always covered in sweat and both were a little uncomfortable talking to each other with disheveled appearances and altered mental states. Ava wasn’t even sure why she was bothered by having not talked to Sara recently, two weeks ago she would’ve given anything to never have to deal with the infuriating blonde again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE’VE GOT DIGITS FOLKS… and now they both know the other one is gay (bi in Sara’s case), but we still have a few more hurdles to jump over…I’m all about the tension, it’s what my life-energy feeds off of.  
> The next chapter is going to be a long one with serious talks. I’m already pretty far into it, but I have a few more scenes I need to write.  
> -L


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is angsty. We learn most of Sara’s back story and some of Ava’s. There are references to death, alcohol, and jail.   
> And OOC Director Bennett again…probably should have made him a different character…welp. Anyhoo… long chapter, enjoy.  
> -L

Thursday morning Ava was woken by a loud knocking on her door. She checked her bedside clock through blurry eyes, it was a few minutes after 5am. She groaned and flipped back over in her bed, hoping to catch a few more minutes of sleep before her alarm went off at six. However, the knocking was insistent so Ava dragged herself out of bed, partially hoping it was an accident and that she could return to bed, but knowing at the same time if it was a “wrong apartment" she might kill or severely maim whoever had woken her up.

She threw her door open and was met with a small freckled face. Ava was about to yell at Sara for waking her up when she took in her appearance. Ava had seen Sara drunk, half-asleep, hungover, and while she was exercising, but she had never seen Sara so vulnerable. The woman seemed to have shrunk, her eyes were trained on her shoes and ringed with red. Ava couldn’t tell if she had been crying or if it was just due to stress and exhaustion. Her hair lay flat and she was hugging a much too large sweater over her suddenly frail body.

“Hey Ava.” Her voice was soft, more hesitant than Ava had ever heard.

“Sara?” Ava asked tentatively.

“Can you watch Jax today? I have some things I need to do out of the city and I can’t take him. I know you don’t like dogs, and I could ask Zari or Ray or something but…” she trailed off.

Ava finally noticed the small dog at her feet and her brow furrowed at the thought of having a dog in her apartment, but she looked back up at Sara and her features softened.

“You can still go into work, just stop back at lunch and then at 5, I know you work late, that’s usually when I get home though and let him out? Maybe take him on your run in the morning, oh and he chews things. I’m sorry I just, I should ask someone else…” Her already quiet voice got softer and softer the longer she talked, everything a mumble.

Ava reached out and laid her hand on Sara’s arm, “It’s okay, I got him. Do you need me to let Director Bennett know you won’t be into work today?”

Sara’s eyes lifted from the ground for the first time, meeting Ava’s. Her bright blue eyes were fogged and Ava couldn’t quite pinpoint the emotion swimming in them. She stood there staring at the taller woman in silence. After a few minutes, Ava prompted her again. “Sara?”

“Umm… it’s okay, I’ll call him on the way.”

“Alright.” Ava responded, finally removing her hand from Sara’s arm.

Sara passed Ava Jax’s leash, “Thanks, I’ll be back at… I actually don’t know when. I’m sorry I just…”

“Sara it’s okay, I got him.”

Sara nodded once, curtly before turning around. Ava watched her as she walked down the hall, fishing out her car keys as she moved. Just before she turned onto the stairs leading down she looked back at Ava, a question in her eyes. Ava nodded again and Sara disappeared into the doorway. Ava’s attention was brought away from Sara’s retreating figure when she heard a bark at her feet. The weight of the situation hit her like a stone. She had a dog to look after, she knew nothing about dogs, and she wasn’t sure when Sara was going to be back. She looked down, addressing the pup.

“Hey Jax, I have absolutely no idea what to do with you.”

The little dog wagged his tail and looked up happily at Ava. She sighed and kneeled down running her hands through his fur. He flopped onto his back in the middle of her doorway, puppy eyes staring up at her as she scratched his tummy.

“I guess you’re not so bad.” Ava admitted.

The dog followed her into the apartment, jumping around and sniffing at everything; exploring the new environment. Jax made it to the couch looking at Ava as if to ask, can I jump up here?

“I guess so buddy, wouldn’t be fair if Gary can be up there and you can’t.” Jax wagged his tail and hopped up on the couch. Gary, who had currently been napping there, jumped up onto the back of the couch and began investigating the new addition to the household. He reached his head down and sniffed the top of Jax’s head before pulling back. Jax just sat there looking at Gary, his tail beating a pattern into the couch behind him but his body still, containing his energy so as not to scare off the cat. Gary then proceeded to reach out his paw and pat Jax on the nose. Jax leaned forward and began sniffing Gary taking his turn to meet the new creature. Gary cautiously lowered his body back onto the main part of the couch, still keeping an eye on the dog.

Ava watched the entire encounter with a laugh, taking a couple pictures with her phone. She reminded herself to send them to Sara another day, after Sara had dealt with whatever she had to.

As Jax continued to adjust to his surroundings, Ava pulled out her computer and set it onto the kitchen counter. The first thing she typed into her search engine was “how to keep a puppy alive”. She looked over at Jax realizing he definitely wasn’t a newborn and she probably didn’t need to bottle feed him. She changed her search to “how to care for a young dog for a day”. After some research Ava realized she was lacking a few important things she needed to take care of a dog, she couldn’t really feed him cat food.

“You want to go on an outing Jax?” Ava asked as she gathered her wallet and phone. The pup began excitedly wiggling his body as Ava reattached his leash.

The drive to Petco was rather eventful. Ava had let Jax sit in the passenger seat which apparently was a mistake because every time she stopped for a stop sign or stop light he would hop into her lap making it impossible to drive. She would have to pick him up out of her lap and put him back into the passenger seat where he would stare at her sadly. It caused her to miss a few green lights and resulted in a fair amount of honking in her general direction. When they arrived, she turned to Jax and said “I am never letting you in the passenger seat again.” The pup gave her another sad look and she laughed lightly before scratching his nose.

They entered to a nearly empty store, the morning was still early and it was a work day. Ava picked up a small bag of food labeled “for dogs of all ages” as well as some dog waste bags. As they were moving to the check-out aisle she heard a loud squeaking at her feet and looked down to see Jax chewing a small toy. He looked up at her, slightly guilty, but mostly pleased with himself.

“Alright, alright, you can get that, but only if you behave.” She told him, picking it up to put it on the register. The employee gave her a strange look as if she was crazy for talking to a dog. Ava wanted to remind him that he worked at Petco, and that people said and did weirder things with their pets like doggy surfing and dog grooming competitions.

She left the store more irked than she should be with the employee, but she relaxed when she saw how happy Jax was with his new toy, even though he was banished to the back of the car.

—

During the day, Jax kept popping back into her head and she made frequent trips to visit him at home. After the third time leaving, Director Bennett came into her office.

“Ms. Sharpe?”

“Director Bennett, it's good to see you sir. What can I help you with?”

The man walked into the office and settled himself into the chair across from Ava’s desk. “Well I’ve been hearing some rumors that you’ve been in and out of the office all morning.”

“Oh! Don’t worry sir, I’m only leaving on my breaks.”  
“I’m not too worried about your work Ms. Sharpe, it’s just… Ava, this is quite out of the ordinary for you, I just wanted to make sure you’re okay?”

The worried look that had settled into Ava’s face at her bosses’ questions eased.

“I’m fine! I’m just watching Sara… Ms. Lance’s dog and I need to keep checking on him and letting him out throughout the day.”

Director Bennett let out a sigh and leaned back, “Oh, that’s good. I’m glad you and Ms. Lance are getting along better.”

“I do run into her often, it makes my life easier if I’m civil with her.”

Director Bennett looked at Ava quizzically. “Why are you running into Ms. Lance so often? Have you had to work with her? I thought that was being dealt with by the consultant?”

“We’re neighbors.”

Director Bennett let out a small chuckle. “Funny coincidence, especially considering your tense relationship.”

Ava shrugged. “Yeah, seems to be working out though. Anyways, I should get back to work, I’m leaving early, well early for me and I want to maximize my work for the day.”

“Yes, of course Ms. Sharpe, have a good rest of your day.”

When Ava left at five with the rest of her coworkers, she felt oddly at ease. She felt like a normal person as she made small talk with her colleagues in the elevator, choosing it over the stairs to continue their conversation about the spring weather and plans to use vacation days soon.

When she entered her apartment and was greeted by a clingy Gary and an ecstatic, jumping Jax, her place felt a little less empty than it usually did.

“Hey boys, did you behave?” She asked them, scratching Jax’s ears and running her hand down Gary’s back. A small bark from Jax gave her the answer, they definitely had behaved. She smiled moving through her apartment into the bedroom, both the boys following her.

“I’m going on a run Jax, do you want to come?” The puppy looked confused.

“Walk, Jax?” At that word he began running back and forth through the apartment, tail going at lightning speed.

“I guess that’s a yes.” Ava said to herself, smiling. It took a little while to get Jax leashed because he couldn’t sit still, but before too long they were outside and on their way.

Ava had never run with anyone. It had always been a place of tranquility for her, plus she had never had anyone to run with anyways. However, there was something about running with a dog though that gave a purpose to her run that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Jax’s lean body didn’t have much trouble keeping up with her, they did have to stop a few times to check out some squirrels and chase away birds. When they arrived back at the apartment Ava realized she hadn’t stressed about her pace or distance a single time and felt so much more relaxed than she usually did after a run.

In the grass outside the apartment, Ava leaned down and began scratching Jax’s head and then stomach when he flipped onto his back.

“Don’t tell Sara this, but I think I may be becoming a dog person.” She whispered to the dog. “Gary will always be my boy, but you’re pretty darn great.”

Jax whipped his tail at the praise, causing it to smack against Ava’s leg.

“C’mon bud, we don’t want Gary to be too jealous, do we?” Jax jumped up and trotted after Ava.

A quick shower left Ava’s wet hair dripping on the counter as she ate dinner alongside the two boys, keeping a close eye on of them so they didn’t steal each other’s meals. Ava felt oddly family-like and when the three of them curled up on a couch while Ava was reading, she had to fight off a smile to keep herself focused on the book.

—

Ava woke up to a knock, she rubbed sleep from her eyes trying to orient herself. She was still on the couch, Gary was curled up on her left, Jax was on her right, and her book was open on her lap. She shifted her position stretching her tightened muscles before looking at her watch, 11:12, it was way past her bedtime but she had been trying to stay up until Sara came back. A knock sounded again, she pulled herself off the couch, causing both of the animals next to her to make noises in protest. When they reached out for the warmth that had left them, they ended up curled next to each other.

Ava rubbed her neck as she made her way to the door, working out the kinks that had developed there. Sara’s face greeted her in the doorway. She looked brutally exhausted, but less fragile, less vulnerable.

Ava opened the door, letting Sara into her apartment without a word. Sara looked around, it was her first-time inside Ava’s apartment. She took in the clean lines and empty spaces. The only personal effects were a few books lining the shelves and there was not a single picture hanging. There were a few house plants but most of them had yellow coloring on their leaves, a product of negligence. It could easily have been uninhabited or a show apartment.

Ava nodded her head at the couch indicating that if Sara wanted to sit down or stay she could but there were no expectations. Sara glanced at the two animals a soft, half-smile found purchase on her face for a split second. She collapsed onto the couch on the opposite side that Jax and Gary were on. Ava carefully settled herself between the animals and Sara. Her couch was just big enough the she wasn’t touching Sara or the boys.

“I should explain” Sara said staring at her own hands. It was the first time either of them had spoken to each other since that morning.

“You don’t have to Sara, we all have our own shit, I’m just glad I was able to help you deal with some of yours.”

“No, I should.”

Ava noticed with a sharp pang the lack of taunting at her use of a swear word.

“Sara you look exhausted, this can wait for another time if you want.”

The smaller woman glanced over at her, a little skeptical. “I have no expectations Sara, you don’t owe me anything.”

Sara looked almost disbelieving. “That’s not true Ava, you know that.”

Ava shrugged and leaned back against the couch, after a brief moment she got the sense that Sara didn’t really want to head back to her empty apartment.

“You want to watch something?” Ava asked.

Sara shrugged, she didn’t really want to, but she wanted to leave Ava’s apartment even less.

Ava noticed the slight hesitation, but flicked on the TV moving to a nature channel. Ava knew Sara at any other time would’ve made fun of her choice. They settled into the TV, the deep blues of marine life and accented voice of the narrator lulled them into a serenity.

—

For the second time in the last twelve hours Ava woke up on the couch. This time she was awoken by light streaming in through her windows, a soft tickling on her face and the smell of vanilla and sandalwood. She forced her eyes open through sleep and was met with a mess of blonde hair, several shades too light to be her own. She groaned and let her eyes flutter shut again, her brain fuzzy with sleep and comfort. Moments later, her brain caught up with her body and Ava shot up with a blush coloring her face, remembering the night before. Sara’s body had been pressed to her chest and their legs were still intertwined and weighted down by their fluffy sons.Ava slowly extracted her body from Sara’s, easing herself of the couch sending the boys to the floor.

She took in the sleeping woman. The tension lines that had been ingrained in Sara’s face the day before had relaxed and she looked peaceful. Small breaths from her parted lips sent strands of her hair fluttering from their place over her face. Ava noticed for the first time a little dimple in Sara’s chin and she restrained herself from the impulse to press her thumb into it. Instead she grabbed the blanket off of her only armchair and tucked it around the sleeping woman, lingering longer than necessary to smooth out creases over Sara’s shoulders.

Jax had moved to the door, letting out small whines and Ava realized he probably needed to use the bathroom so she leashed him, grabbed some of the bags and as an afterthought put her wallet and phone in her pocket.

After he had done his business, Ava noticed the coffee shop that had opened across from the apartment and, grateful that she had grabbed her wallet last minute, walked over.

She knelt down next the dog after tying him up. “Jax, I’m going to be one minute. I’ll just be in there” She said pointing to the shop. “So, don’t freak out.” The dog looked up at her blinking a few times, clearly not understanding a single word Ava was saying, but enjoying the attention she seemed to have trained onto him. Ava sighed looking at him, scratching his head and entering the store.

Jax watched worriedly as Ava entered the store, and when she exited a few minutes later his entire body shook with excitement.

“Hey buddy, I was only gone a second?” She laughed as he licked her face when she knelt down to pet him again. He began sniffing the tray carrying two coffee cups and two pastries in her hand but she pulled it back quickly. “Not for you, but they did have something.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a little peanut butter treat they sold at the counter for dogs. “I hope Sara’s okay I’m feeding you this.” She mumbled under breath, before shrugging deciding that Sara was probably pretty lax about rules.

As she neared the apartment building again she remembered the phone call she needed to make. She set the coffees down on a nearby bench so she could dial the number before entering her apartment to avoid waking up Sara.

She needn’t have worried though, because as she entered she noticed the smaller woman stirring on the couch, groaning as she pried her eyes open.

“Ava?” She asked blearily.

“Hey Sara. Jax and I brought coffee and muffins.” Ava replied as she set the tray down on the coffee table that was positioned a few feet from the couch.

The woman hummed lightly as she pulled herself into a sitting position, tucking stray hairs behind her ears. Ava couldn’t help but feel like the woman looked at home sitting on her couch with a bed head.

She felt a strange tightness and warmth spread through her chest as she sat down next to the smaller woman. Ava waited a few minutes before talking, letting Sara get some coffee into her system.

“I called in to work, I’m going in late and you are not going into work today.”

Sara looked up, surprised, “What did Director Bennett think about us being together?”

“He knows we are neighbors.” Sara let out a little “ah” in understanding before turning back to her coffee. Ava reached out and picked up a muffin setting it gently into her lap over a napkin. They sat there for a long while, Ava picking slowly at the muffin and Sara taking small sips of her coffee.

Finally, Sara leaned forward, setting her coffee down before sitting back up, slightly more hunched on the couch.

“I had to drive to National City, that’s why it took me so long.” Ava watched Sara, knowing that this might take a while, but also knowing that prompting Sara was the wrong move. She needed to let the other woman explain on her own terms.

The woman started twisting the rings on each of her fingers of her left hand with her right as she explained.

“I needed to bail my dad out of jail.”

Sara grimaced. “Again.”

Ava didn’t let the surprise reach her face, she vaguely remembered Sara mentioning that he had been a cop.

“Drunk and disorderly.” Sara added, falling silent again, hands dropping down. She leaned forward and grabbed her coffee off the table and took a sip. Cradling it in her hands, she continued.

“He got kicked of the force a few years ago because he’s an alcoholic and things have gotten worse since then. It started when…” Sara trailed off, setting her coffee back down and pulled her knees up to her chest. “It was after my sister died.”

Ava slid her hand along the couch until it was grazing the side of Sara’s foot, just enough to give her the warmth of a human touch. Sara looked over at Ava and took a deep breath, relaxing at the comfort.

“After…well we were all in grief and he turned to drinking and my mom left. I think in part because of him and partly because of her. The force kept him on track for a bit, but when they found out, they let him go. Forced his retirement. He’d been there long enough that they wanted to let him leave with a semblance of dignity. But ever since then things have been worse, that’s why I left National City. I was staying to take care of him, but I just I couldn’t anymore…I’m an awful person.” Sara buried her face into her knees.

“Sara you are not an awful person. You are brave and selfless.”

“You don’t know that Ava, you barely know me.”

“I know that you’ve survived the death of a loved one, I know you stuck around for your dad longer than anyone else I know would’ve, I know you care about people even if you don’t particularly like them and I know you see people, beyond whatever facade they put up.”

Sara give her a quizzical look at the last sentiment.

“You don’t remember this Sara, but when you were drunk, you told me some things about yourself and myself and I felt like it was the first time someone has seen me in a long time.”

“Just because I’m observant doesn’t make me selfless or brave. Ava you don’t understand. I’m fucked up, my families fucked up…I am not a good person.”

“Sara everyone’s families are fucked up, I left home when I was fourteen and have never looked back.”

Sara looked up at Ava. The taller woman shrugged “I don’t really get family, but I do get messed up family.”

Sara sighed, burying her face back into her knees. “You don’t deserve any of this, my shit, my dog, me.”

“Sara, look at me. Sara.” The smaller woman hesitantly raised her eyes, bright blue meeting their stormy counterpart. The hand had been pressed against Sara’s foot moved up to her shoulder. “I am happy to have helped. I don’t like dogs, but I did end up having fun with Jax. And the only undeserving person in this situation is you Sara. You don’t deserve a drunk dead, absent mom, and lost sister.”

Sara’s body unfurled feet ending up back on the floor, head leaning back into the couch.

“I’m just so tired Ava.” She said pinching the bridge of her nose.

Ava leaned back, mimicking the other woman. “Me too, Sara. Me too.”

They sat like that in an almost comforting silence, their bodies had moved slightly so their arms were lightly pressed against each other from wrist to elbow. They reveled in the warmth and peace the other one brought. The morning peaked before either of them moved. Sara finally realized she hadn’t been back to her apartment in over 24 hours and reluctantly stood up, leaving Ava’s warmth.

“I should probably go shower and brush my teeth” She said hesitantly.

Ava nodded, standing up to walk Sara to the door when she remembered something.

“Wait Sara, I have a few things.” Ava called as she headed to her kitchen, grabbing a few things off the counter before rejoining Sara at the door.

Sara looked a little puzzled.

Ava passed Sara a bag, “I bought Jax food and a toy and there are some doggy poop bags in there too. I don’t really have any use for them.”

Sara looked at her a little embarrassed “Oh my god, I didn’t leave you anything did I?”

“You left me the dog.”

“I am so sorry Ava, I…”

“Sara, we have been over this, you’re sorry and grateful, I am still totally fine with it and glad I could help, okay?”

Sara nodded once, resolutely.

“Ava you should know, I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“Sara, you are one of the most infuriatingly stubborn people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, you would’ve been fine, but you should remember that it is always easier to do it with help.” Ava looked at Sara with an intense seriousness throughout her entire sentiment.

“You should take your own advice Ms. Sharpe.”

“Not a chance, Ms. Lance.” The two smiled at each other, parting ways.

Moments after Sara had left a message popped up on Ava’s phone from Sara “the sexy neighbor” Lance.

“I’ve made it home.”

“Thank you very much Ms. Lance, I was quite worried you didn’t know how to walk down a hallway.”

“Oh it’s Ms. Lance again, is it?”

“It’s more professional and we ARE coworkers.”

“Yes and neighbors, spar-buddies, laundry buddies, dogsitters, share-our-fucked-up-histories-buddies and have seen each other drunk.” “Okay so you’ve seen me drunk… but still.”

“Fine…Sara.”

“Haha, I win!”

“If you could see me, I’m rolling my eyes, also check these out” Ava sent a bunch of pictures from the day before of Gary and Jax meeting and cuddling and playing.

“Our babies are friends!”

Ava felt a little flutter in her stomach at reading the “our babies”, before shaking it off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merp, merp, merp. Some fluffiness to counteract the angst?? Enough I hope?  
> Also, they were watching a David Attenborough documentary on TV, he narrates Planet Earth, Blue Planet, Our Planet and a bunch of other things. If you haven’t seen any of those I highly recommend.  
> AND dog surfing is a real thing, another thing to watch in quarantine!  
> I know Petco doesn’t open that early, but it DOES IN THIS WORLD.  
> I hope you all are as well as possible.  
> -L


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how long this has taken, work got really crazy! I am GOING to finish this fic, it just might take a while. School is starting and I'm still working.  
> I’m going to try to update once a week (at least) from now on, unless I have a test heavy week.  
> Thank you all for sticking with me :)  
> This chapter ended up pretty much just Ava being a gay mess.  
> Alcohol present in this chapter.  
> -L

Ava couldn’t get Sara off of her mind. It wasn’t just because of the new information she had gained of the other woman, it was the sleep blurred eyes, the bed head, the smell of sandalwood and vanilla, the feeling of peace and home Sara had brought. Ava was confused and slightly annoyed with her brain and its fixation on the small freckled woman. She had been incredibly distracted at work ever since she had woken up with Sara’s hair in her face.

Ava watched the numbers on her microwave slowly ticking downwards, as she pondered this new fascination. A knock at the door brought her out of her trance. She left her dinner microwaving and opened it to find Sara’s face again. The last time they had been in this position was when Sara had returned from National City and they had ended up on the couch together.

“Sara, hey.”

“Ava.”

They looked at each other, slightly awkwardly.

“I probably should’ve texted you, but I brought dinner?”

Ava looked at the plastic bag in Sara’s hand.

“I brought Indian, I don’t know if you’ve already eaten?”

“No, I haven’t, I was just microwaving some left overs but this looks much better.”

Ava walked into the kitchen, removing the vegetable and tofu medley from her microwave and putting it back in its spot in the fridge.

Ava pointed to a cabinet. “There are plates and bowls in there. I’ll grab some silverware.”

Sara nodded and dropped the food on the table before entering Ava’s kitchen. She felt a little odd, finally being fully inside the other woman’s apartment.

“So, what did you get?” Ava asked.

“A few curries, I think a masala and a korma, and some samosas and naan.” She looked over at Ava and pumped her eyebrows jokingly “I also brought rum and mango lassis. I thought I could get you drunk and even the score ya know.”

Ava shook her head disapprovingly, but a slight smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

“No way.”

“C’mon Ava, dirty mango lassis, what better way to lose all inhibitions.”

“Let’s eat Sara.” Ava moved to the kitchen counter automatically, but jumped back up when she realized Sara had set everything up at the table. She hesitantly pulled up a seat across from Sara. This was the first time she could ever remember eating at the table much the less eating with company.

“So, why’d you bring me food, again? You didn’t fuck up a meeting this time.”

“First off its a thank you, second off I never fucked up the meeting and thirdly, damn Ava you swear way more than I thought you would.”

Ava rolled her eyes. “You definitely think I’m way more professional than I am.”

“Oh yes, the woman who goes into the office seven days a week is unprofessional.”

Ava shrugged “I enjoy work.”

“Yes, yes. We’ve had this conversation before. My question is though what do you do when you’re not working. I literally don’t think I have ever seen you not working.”

“That is not true, but honestly not much. I run and spar and read. That’s it.”

“Avaaaa, that’s so boring. What about a social life? A girlfriend?”

Ava looked slightly confused. “How did you…?”

“I’m not really the boyfriend type? Really Ava? I may be an idiot sometimes but I’m not completely ignorant.”

“Honestly, I did not think you would remember that night at all.”

“I handle my alcohol well.”

Ava chuckled “Sure, Ms. Sit on the floor, unable to walk into her own apartment.”  
Sara cocked an eyebrow “Maybe I just wanted to have a certain someone help me up.”

Ava blushed, and shoved food into her mouth to hide her embarrassment. Sara laughed at Ava’s discomposure.

“No seriously, thanks for that night Aves, one of the many things you’ve done for me.”

Ava proceeded to choke on the food she had just shoved in her mouth.

“Ava? Are you okay?”

Ava nodded as she finished coughing, through watery eyes she inquired, “Aves?”

Sara shrugged.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been called that.” Ava commented.

They were quiet for a few moments before Ava spoke up again.

“This is really good, thank you. It’s been ages since I’ve eaten take out.”

“It’s been ages since I haven’t,” Sara said.

Ava chuckled “Of course.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You just don’t seem like someone who would spend time cooking.”

“I don’t know if I should be offended.”

“Maybe a little.” Ava said with a wink.

Sara smiled at her with a little shake of her head.

“You are something else Ava Sharpe.”

“You are one to talk Sara Lance.”

Their eyes met, mirth and contentment brimming under the surface of both. They were both surprised with how at ease they felt.

“How’s Jax been?” Ava asked.

“He’s good. I think he’s been missing you though he keeps looking around as if someone is missing.”  
Ava laughed a little uncomfortably. “It’s probably Gary he’s looking for, they became surprisingly close.”

“How weird would it be for a dog and a cat to have a playdate?” Sara asked humorously.

“Pretty weird, but I wouldn’t put it past you.”

“Alright, playdate it is then.”

Ava shook her head in faux-disapproval.

“It’ll be great fun Ava.”

“What are they supposed to do? They’re a cat and a dog.”

“I seem to recall last time they were pretty chill just snuggling.”

Ava blanched a little at the memory of that night. She still had no idea if Sara knew they had slept together on the couch. Before Sara could question Ava about her change in demeanor, the taller woman agreed.

“Alright, I guess we can do a snuggling playdate.”

“You know what that sounds like, right?” Sara said laughing, Ava leaned forward and pressed her finger the other woman’s lips to prevent her from finishing that thought.

“Don’t even…no” Ava said laughing.

As her hand pressed into the warm skin of Sara’s lips, her heart leap into her throat. For the first time that night she realized what these strange sensations were. Why she couldn’t keep Sara off her mind, why the smell of sandalwood and vanilla was stuck in her nose, why she couldn’t stop smiling when the smaller woman was there, why she had to make a conscious effort to keep her eyes from wandering to Sara’s exposed shoulders and chest. She had feelings for her neighbor, her stubborn, annoying, beautiful, strong, brave neighbor.

Her hand jerked away and she swore out loud by accident.

“Shit.”

“Everything okay?” The object of her feelings asked.

“Yeah.” Ava said struggling to think of something “I just remembered something I forgot to do at work.” She managed to get out.

Sara looked a little doubtful, but nodded her head “Okay.”

They ate in silence for a while, it was oddly comfortable, neither felt like they needed to talk. As they wound down, relaxing back into their respective chairs, stomachs pressing against waistlines with fullness, Sara brought up her early idea again.

“Rum and mango lassis??”

“Sara! I can’t be hungover when I go into work.”

“Ava you do realize it’s a Friday, Friday. Tomorrow is Saturday.”

“We’ve been over this, I go into work everyday.”

“Have you ever missed a day of work?”

Ava looked a little sheepish. “I was sick once.”

“How long ago was that? A year?”

Ava looked even more sheepish. “Three.”

Sara looked aghast “You haven’t taken a day off in three years! Ava that physically hurts me.”

Ava shrugged.

“I’m going to have a mango lassi with rum, you are welcome to join me, but if you don’t want one that’s fine.” Sara stated, getting up from the table and pulling the lassis from the fridge. She heard some movement behind her and smirked when Ava came up behind her.

“Fine, I’ll take one. You’ve sparked my curiosity.”

Sara shivered slightly as Ava brushed behind her, she had a strange wish bubble in her that Ava would wrap her arms around her from behind. Sara shook the thoughts from her head and made two very alcoholic mixed drinks.

—

Ava woke up with a pounding headache and bright light streaming through her windows. She looked over at her clock and saw it was 3. Ava panicked, jumped out of bed holding her head, and began running around the room gathering her things. When she went to pick up her phone she noticed a little note. _Aves, I know you are probably freaking out right now about missing work and that is my fault, I shut off your alarm. I thought you needed the sleep. I let Director Bennett know you won’t be in to work today, he honestly sounded relieved. So, don’t go in today seriously. SERIOUSLY._

At first all Ava could think about was how, since the note was in her room, Sara must have been there too. Sara had been in her bedroom. Ava couldn’t decide if she was more frustrated with the woman or flustered. Coming to a decision, Ava grabbed her phone out from underneath the note and texted Sara.

**Sara “the sexy neighbor” Lance**

Sara!! What have you done.

Given you a well-deserved rest :)

I slept until 3.

Pm.

Haha, that’s nothing, once I slept until 6

Good times

That is ridiculous.

What’s ridiculous is your unbelievably low alcohol tolerance

One drink and you were out

That was not one drink.

The amount of rum you put in that drink could’ve killed a small adult.

I’m a small adult and I was fine

You have the alcohol tolerance of a drunk sailor.

Isn’t that counterintuitive?

If I was a drunk sailor, I would be drunk and therefore have a low tolerance.

You know what I was saying!

Haha, yes.

What am I supposed to do with a free day?

What do people do?

I’ve just been chilling in bed all day

Watched some TV

Naked dance party

A WHAT dance party?

Naked, you should try it sometime, very freeing

Sara, I don’t dance, much the less naked.

You can join me ;)

I’ll teach you everything you need to know

SARA

What?

I am NOT having a naked dance party with you.

Worth a try ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Want to go sparring?

Sure. Meet you there in an hour?

We DO live in the same building

Come over to mine in an hour, we’ll drive over together

See you soon.

Ava looked up from her phone and saw herself in the mirror hanging on the wall. She was smiling and she hadn’t even realized it.

Sara’s car was about as messy as Ava expected. It was an old Subaru Outback, covered in a thick layer of dirt. Clothing, paper and shoes littered the back seats, several unopened drinks were rolling around on the floor and half peeling stickers could be find on all the doors. Dog hair was stuck to every cloth surface and Ava didn’t even try to brush it off before sitting down.

“Subaru, nice.” Ava said jokingly.

“I bet you have one too.” Sara replied.

Ava nodded laughing “Yes, but much cleaner than yours and newer too.”

“Mine is lovely. She gets me where I need to go, I’ve had her since high school.”

“Wow, impressively old.”

Sara shrugged “I’m attached now.”

—

Sparring was surprisingly fun, even if it wasn’t as vigorous as last time, due mostly to Ava’s hungover state. Sara was still impressed with how much she was able to do, given the state she had left Ava in the night before.

As Ava lay in bed later that night, thinking about the day, she tried to remember the last person she had had feelings for. Her last and only long-term relationship had ended poorly when her ex-girlfriend had accused her of more about work than her, Ava couldn’t refute the accusation. Her ex had ended up in Las Vegas and she had simply moved apartments, not exceedingly distressed by the events. Even in that long-term relationship, she didn’t remember ever feeling the same way she felt around Sara. She searched her memory and couldn’t find any memories with similar feelings, maybe that was why it took her so long to realize she was into the other woman. Ava chuckled slightly to herself, definitely not, the reason it took her so long was because Sara was incredibly annoying and chaotic. Sara had managed to upend her life in a few weeks; she had dog sat and she hated dogs, she had gone on run with company - the dog, she had eaten at her dining table for the first time maybe ever, and she had missed a day of work. Work, the life and blood of Ava Sharpe and she had not gone because of a woman she had known a few weeks. Ava was surprisingly relaxed about how different her life was becoming as she drifted off to sleep, dreaming of blue eyes, freckles, and the smell of sandalwood and vanilla.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I switched up the text format, let me know if this works or if y’all have a preference. What’s easier to read?
> 
> Hope everyone is well as possible. Take care of your mental health.  
> Toddles,  
> \- L


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter is pretty heavy, mentions of severe homophobia, homelessness, and foster care.

Ava and Sara fell into a habit of using whatever excuses they could to spend time together. Their morning meetings, which used to consist of a few sentences or tense nods, now were dragged out to dozens of minutes, both lingering and timing it so they were walking back up to their apartments together every day. They had begun sparring as often as they could, a session every few days that resulted in flushed faces on both their parts, neither entirely due to the exertion.

The other day Sara had texted Ava asking if she wanted to go on a run with her and Jax. Ava had felt giddily excited to see the puppy and his owner. Her personal space and time all but gone on her run, replaced with a fun competition and unwarranted joy.

Ava was thinking about Sara as she munched on her sandwich in the office. They had been sparring the day before, so Ava couldn’t reasonably ask the other woman to spar. She contemplated whether asking Sara to dinner would be crossing a boundary of sorts. At that moment her phone started ringing, Sara’s name popped up on the screen, causing Ava to smile before answering. The feelings she had finally put a name to bubbled in her chest and she forced them down.

“Aves! I just had the most amazing experience of my life. Okay, so well I know you don’t like dogs, but I ran into a litter of puppies that were being adopted out and I got to snuggle with them all. I was in a literal doggy pile. I have never been so happy in my entire life.” The woman gushed into the phone.

Ava laughed at her excitement. “That’s what you were calling me about?” She asked jokingly.

“It was very important Ava, puppies!”

“They’re just dogs, though.”

“Wow, you are heartless Ava Sharpe. Absolutely heartless.”

Ava laughed. “Where are you anyways? I thought you had work today.”

“I do, I was walking to get lunch when I ran into them.”

“Sure. Walking to lunch.”

“What do you mean by that?” Sara exclaimed.

“I have an odd feeling that you went out of your way to find those dogs.” Ava replied through a grin.

“Okay, well you might have a point.”

“I knew it.”

Sara laughed and Ava smiled at the sound.

“How’s work been today?” The freckled woman asked after her chuckles quieted.

“Mmm… okay. I haven’t been very productive.” Ava replied.

“I think we probably have different definitions of not very productive.”

“Probably. What is yours? Not doing anything at all? Napping?”

“How dare you, Ava Gregorovich Sharpe.”

Ava laughed “That is not my middle name.”

“You’re right my bad, Ava Works-Too-Much Sharpe.”

“Sara” Ava groaned.

“Alright, alright. What is it then?”

“Lee.”

“Mmm… I like Gregorovich better or even Works-Too-Much.”

“Hey, my middle name is just fine. What’s yours anyways? Chaos?”

“That’s cool, maybe I should change it to that. But no, it’s Marie.”

“Sarah Marie Lance.”

“That’s me.”

Ava glanced at her wrist watch.

“My lunch break just ended, I should probably get back to work.”

“You are so boring Aves. What’s five more minutes?”

“You are a terrible influence on me Sara.”

“I try my best,” Sara replied cheekily from the other end of the phone.

“I do see my boss, so I really should go.”

“Okay, okay, bye Aves.”

“Bye Sara.” Ava hung up the phone just as Director Bennett passed by her office.

—

That night Ava sat in her kitchen, her thoughts falling to the place they had been resting for the last week. The evening light illuminated her counters and she traced the shadows as she thought about Sara and her laugh, and about Jax and how sweet he looked when he was pressed against Sara’s legs.

Her phone ringing brought her back to the present and she answered it cheerfully, not even checking to see who was calling, because really only one person had been calling her recently.

The voice on the other end surprised her, it was oddly familiar but unrecognizable. She tried to place it, but the voice beat her to it.

A few tense minutes later, Ava dropped her phone, tears stinging her eyes. At that moment she saw a stream of texts pop up on her screen.

**Sara “the sexy neighbor” Lance**

Okay guess what just happened

Never mind you are never going to guess

I ran into Zari and Nate on a DATE

You remember Zari right and I told you about Nate

I’m not really surprised, but still…crazy!

Ava realized she had begun to rely on Sara too much. She relied on Sara for her happiness, for support and comfort. She had gotten used to having someone else in her life, something she had told herself she would never let happen. Ava turned away, ignoring the texts, hoping the further away Sara Lance was from her, the less vulnerable she would be.

—

Ava moved through the next day in a fog, doing everything in her power to avoid her phone and any places she knew she might run into Sara. As evening fell on her empty apartment, a knock came at her door. Ava felt oddly hopeful that it was Sara, but a sense of dread filled her at the same thought. She knew if Sara was to come in a physical radius of her, Ava would break the promise she made to not get attached to anyone, to stay disengaged and not put her heart on the line again.

The knock came again, more insistent, and the voice she had come to look forward to called out.

“Ava? Are you okay? You haven’t been responding to my texts and I haven’t seen you in ages.”

The knocking came again.

“Ava if you don’t open up, I will knock this door down. I am strong enough to do that, or I’ll call the police.”

Ava sighed and moved from her uncomfortable perch at the kitchen counter to the door. She cracked it open to find the expectant looking face of one Sara Lance.

“Ava, what the heck, I was worried you had died or something.”

Ava blinked a few times trying to stay as emotionless as possible. “Hello Ms. Lance.”

“Ava? Okay, now I’m annoyed. Let me in.”

“Now is not a good time.”

“Aves, c’mon what is going on.”

“Nothing you should concern yourself with, Ms. Lance.”

Sara pushed past her, entering her living room and looking around to try to find the source of her confusion. Having found nothing, she turned back and looked Ava up and down.

There was something about the tall woman that caught Sara off guard. There wasn’t anything noticeably different about Ava. She was as pristine as usually, hair in a tight bun at the base of her neck, her suit perfectly ironed even hours after the work day was over. Sara was caught by the look on her face, it was reminiscent of the look Ava had had on her face for the first week Sara had known her. Sara didn’t realize how different the Ava she had met was from the Ava she had been hanging out with recently, until that moment. It clicked in Sara’s mind, the difference. It was happiness and openness, a slight smile that graced her lips and twinkle in her eyes that contrasted with the frown etched into her features currently. The piercing grey-blue eyes that Sara dreamed about had become stormy and emotionless.

In a swift movement, the small woman crossed the distance between the two and wrapped her strong arms around the tall woman’s torso, pressing her forehead against her shoulder. She held her there tightly until the tension in Ava’s body slowly melted away, the tall body finally letting itself be held and molding into the smaller one. Sara only moved when she felt hot drops hitting her shoulder. She lifted her head momentarily confused, before seeing the salty tears streaming down Ava’s face. She leaned back and brought a thumb up to the corner of the taller woman’s face, tracing the path down her cheek, her eyes soft and heavy with the pain of the other woman.

Sara slowly guided Ava to the couch, maintaining a physical touch the entire time. She shifted into sitting position, pulling the taller woman into her side. Ava clung to Sara like a lifeline, finally letting go of whatever facade she had kept on for so long. Tears continued to stream down her face, later Ava would realize she couldn’t remember the last time she had cried.

The tears finally subsided and Ava pulled herself off of Sara’s body, looking at her fearfully. She hadn’t meant to break down like that, Ava never lost control, and yet her she was crying and clinging to a woman she had barely just met.

“Ava, don’t pull away again, please.” Sara whispered quietly. “Don’t go back into your corner.”

Ava blinked, looking at her, as if noticing it was Sara. Sara sitting in her apartment, Sara who had held her when she cried. Sara who had asked her for help.

Ava sighed, before starting to talk. Her voice was cracked and rough from her tears.

“I don’t like getting close to people.”

Sara looked at her without any judgment. “I could tell.”

“I’ve never really had any kind of lasting relationship; friends, family, romantic. I don’t think I know how to be in one.”

Sara looked at her, a little confused, but mostly just open and willing.

“I got a call yesterday from Pam, my mother, and it made me realize how close I have gotten to you, and how much I rely on you now.” Ava paused taking a deep breath. “And… that scares me.”

Sara’s eyes widened briefly before she quietly responded. “It scares me too.”

The two looked at each other, fully comprehending for a moment what they meant to each other, before looking away.

Sara nudged slightly, “If you don’t mind me asking, why would a call from your mother make you think about that?”

Ava sighed again, heavily. “I haven’t heard from her in …about fifteen years? I told you that I left home when I was fourteen.”

Sara nodded, listening closely.

“I wasn’t being entirely honest.”

Ava sat silently for a moment.

“You don’t need to tell me, if you don’t want Aves.”

Perhaps it was the pet name, or perhaps simply a desire for someone to know her story, but Ava continued.

“I didn’t leave my home, I was kicked out. I don’t remember the specifics honestly, though I feel like I should. My parents are conservative and religious and somehow, I was outed. I just remember being thrown out onto the front porch, I had my school pack I think. I stood outside my house for two mornings, waiting for my parents to realize their mistake, but every time they left for work, they ignored me. I was on the streets for a little after that, I got my lunches from the public school I went to and I slept on park benches. One of my teachers eventually figured it out and contacted Child Protective Services. I was put into the foster system and I bounced around houses until I was old enough to live on my own through the next step program. I put myself through college and as soon as I saved up enough money I got out of that town as fast as I could.” Ava pulled further away from Sara, so their bodies were no longer touching. “Sara I’m broken. You don’t want to be friends with me.”

Tears were welling in Sara’s eyes as she listened to Ava’s story “Ava, you’re not broken. God, you’re the opposite of that. You made it this far all by yourself, that is impressive. But now you have a friend, you have someone you can count on. You have me. And you can’t shut me out, if not for yourself, then me. I need you Ava, just as much as you need me.”

Ava looked at her surprised but skeptical.

“You can say that all you want, but I don’t know how to have a connection with people. I’ve never been able to… I shouldn’t be someone you need Sara.”

“That’s the thing, we don’t really get to choose who we need.”

Ava looked at her.

“And even if I could, I would still choose you Ava Lee Sharpe.”

Ava looked at her a little sadly. “I wish you wouldn’t say that, you can do so much better.”

“Ava, we’re friends, can’t you just accept that?”

Ava sighed, “Yeah, I still think it’s a mistake though.”

“For my sake or yours Ava?”

Ava sat silently contemplating Sara’s question. She did want to protect Sara, but she was also trying so hard to protect herself, a part of her had blended those two things.

They sat in silence, each thinking about the other and what they meant to each other, how vulnerable their friendship made them. It was a long time before either of them spoke again.

“Is it okay if I ask why your mom called you after all this time?” Sara questioned tentatively.

Ava let out a heavy breath. “I mean there really is nothing to know. She said she finally found my contact information and was checking in on where I was. I have no idea why she called me now, I’ve spent more of my life not knowing her then knowing her. I couldn’t really tell you why.”

Sara nodded as if that was somehow the answer she expected to hear.

“Do you want to order pizza?” The smaller woman asked.

Ava gave her a forced smile and nodded.

—

The pizza arrived, carried by a pimpled teenage boy who seemed a little stunned by the two beautiful women who answered the door. The two chuckled slightly about his reaction as they brought the pizza to the living room. Ava had been a little cautious about the greasy food on her nice furniture, but Sara had argued pizza couldn’t be eaten at a table, and so they ended up sitting on the floor with the pie between the two, reminiscent of the first time they had eaten dinner together.

Ava popped the lid of the box and was greeted by a Hawaiian pie. She looked up at Sara to see a content look on the blonde woman’s face.

“But you hate pineapple on pizza.” Ava argued.

“And I stand by that. I will be picking it off.” Sara replied.

Ava looked like she was about to argue, before changing her mind and enjoying the sweet and salty dish in front of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not super pleased with this chapter so it might end up getting edited later. I’ll let y’all know. 
> 
> So, the middle names I gave them are the middle names of the actors who play them, but if they have actual middle names that I couldn’t figure out, let me know! Or if there are one’s you prefer/sound better, I’m happy to change them!  
>  \- L


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for how long this took, life happened. Updates will keep coming, but I don’t know how fast. I am sorry folks.
> 
> I really appreciate all the comments and again sorry for how long this took.  
> Cheers,  
> \- L

Ava and Sara were a little tense around each other for the next few days. Each remembering how averse Ava had been to relying so heavily on each other. But there was some kind of magnetism between the two of them, and they couldn’t seem to avoid each other.Their morning meetings continued, stinted but still existent. They ran into each other at the store and at the gym. They laughed at the first one, recalling their first meetings. When they ran into each other at the gym, not having scheduled a spar session, Ava realized that Sara was trying to give her room to think and process and Ava appreciated that, but she also realized that she had been missing Sara. She missed the funny texts the other woman had sent her constantly. She missed their long conversations and semi-daily sparring matches. Ava decided that she needed to be the one to reach out to Sara, and show that she had come to terms with their closeness. That she was less afraid.

That Saturday, Ava knocked on Sara’s door, Gary cradled in her arms. The door swung open to reveal the short woman with her hair tossed in a messy bun, sporting sweat pants and a few pillow lines on her face.

“Were you just taking a nap?” Ava asked, a smile teasing at the corner of her mouth.

Sara looked at her grumpily. “Yes, why?”

“Sara it's four in the afternoon.”

“So? It’s the perfect napping time.”

“Oh yes, just late enough to make it difficult to fall asleep, but just early enough to give you energy for dinner.” Ava responded jokingly.

“Exactly!” Sara said seriously, “I want to be rested up for a big meal.”

Ava laughed, she knew how serious Sara would get about her naps.

“I brought Gary for our ridiculous cat, dog playdate.”

Sara started laughing. “I was mostly kidding about that” she said recalling the conversation they had had the other day.

“Well I still have some things I have to make up to you.” Ava replied in reference to how distantly she had treated Sara when her mother had called. It was the first time they had really referenced what had happened.

Sara sobered up, the tension between them returning to the air again briefly, before Sara relaxed again and they slid into a new place of comfort. The vulnerability of the entire situation had created an odd understanding between the two.

“Jax is going to be stoked” Sara said, breaking the silence as she leaned forward to scratch behind Gary’s ears. She took Ava in, still in her work uniform, because of course she was working on a Saturday, but the jacket was missing, the shirt untucked, sleeves rolled up, three buttons undone, her classic after work outfit. Sara picked Gary up from Ava’s arms, swallowing at her suddenly very dry mouth when their hands brushed and Sara got a close look at Ava’s strong hands and defined forearms.

Sara coughed a little, trying remedy her parched mouth. “Come in.” She said beckoning to Ava with the cat in her arms.

Ava entered the blonde woman’s apartment. It was a bit messy, sweaters hanging on very comfortable looking armchairs. Trinkets lined her shelves, including pictures, interesting shaped gems and a few swords and knives that looked decorative, but Ava knew Sara probably could wield them. The style was very mishmash, none of the curtains, chairs or furniture matched, patchwork quilts were piled in various corners and empty coffee cups littered any remaining space on the tables. It was so very Sara. Ava realized that the only time she had been there before had been at the party when she had seen Sara very drunk and even at that time she hadn’t gotten a good look at the place.

“You know what’s funny?” The tall woman asked, voicing her thoughts. “This is only the second time I’ve been in your apartment and you’ve been to mine a fair few times.”

Sara laughed. “Funny, yes, not purposely designed because my apartment is always a mess and you are always pristinely clean.”

Ava looked at Sara with a raised eyebrow. The short woman shrugged as if she were admitting a big secret.

At that moment a ball of fur came shooting out of the back room right to Ava and started barking softly and merrily, tail wagging ferociously.

“Awww. He missed you.” Sara commented.

A small smile stuck on Ava’s face, she plopped down on the floor into cross-legged, letting Jax lick her face and catch up with her in all his puppy ways. Sara moved to join them on the floor and Gary settled into her lap, watching the antics of his dog counterpart. Sara couldn’t keep her eyes off Ava’s face. It was painted with delight as she pet and played with the dog. Sara had gotten surprisingly good at noticing when Ava was uncomfortable, but Ava looked so in her element at that moment. Sara felt her chest tightening, she was relieved that Ava at ease with her and with Jax. She wasn’t just relieved though, she was exuberant, she wanted to always be able to see Ava like this.

Ava turned back to Sara. “If this is truly going to be a playdate, we should probably let them hang out.” The tall woman said with a smile.

Sara blinked a few times, trying to process everything. “Yes! Of course.”

She lifted Gary out of her lap and pulled herself onto her feet turning around to grab Ava’s hand to drag her to a standing position. The movement brought the two of them close. They stood like that for a minute before shuffling a bit out of each other’s personal space.

“Do you want a drink?” Sara asked.

Ava chuckled, “As long as it is not your ridiculously alcoholic mango lassis.”

Sara replied recalcitrantly “They weren’t”.

Ava smirked “Whatever you say.” To which Sara stuck her tongue out at the taller woman through a smile.

The two made it to the kitchen still snickering. Sara’s kitchen was as messy as the rest of her apartment. Her sink was filled with dirty dishes and papers littered her kitchen counters. The short woman opened her cabinets, the only clean glasses were on the top shelf, where Sara couldn’t easily reach. She pressed her body upwards onto her tiptoes, her shirt lifting up to reveal her lower back. Ava’s eyes were glued on this patch of skin, until Sara began to swing herself up onto the counter, giving up on reaching the glasses without assistance. Before Sara could find purchase on the counter, Ava moved up behind her.

“Let me” the tall woman breathed lightly, a little taken aback by their proximity. She reached up behind Sara and pulled two glasses down, setting them on the counter.

Sara quirked her eyebrow at Ava when the woman didn’t move away.

“You enjoying that spot Sharpe?”

Ava backed away quickly. “Sorry I was just…” she trailed off when she saw the joking look on the other woman’s face.

“Scotch okay?” The blonde asked. Ava nodded and watched as Sara deftly poured two fingers of scotch into the glasses. She grabbed the glasses and carried them back into the living room.

The two animals had taken up purchase on one of the armchairs so Sara and Ava had plenty of room to sit on the couch.

Ava asked Sara how work had been, they hadn’t had a project or meeting together in a long time and she was interested in hearing more about what Sara did.

Sara launched into an explanation of her team and their roles. Ava had heard a fair amount about each of the members individual as they were Sara’s closest friends, but never really about how the functioned together. As Sara talked, Ava was reminded about how good of a leader the other woman was and how capable she was. No matter how much Sara may seem chaotic, or how much she marched to her own drum, she was one of the most responsible people Ava knew. Ava felt a desire to apologize for every accusing Sara of being irresponsible.

As Sara talked about work, Ava watched as the shorter woman fiddled with her rings. She had began talking about Nate and Zari, mentioning something about them dating, but Ava wasn’t really listening anymore. Her eyes were glued on the fingers of the other woman and her mind was stuck on what things those rings and those fingers could do… She realized suddenly where her mind was and her eyes shot off the fingers, her face turning a bright fuchsia.

Sara stopped talking and looked at Ava, confusion scattering her face. Ava shook her head indicating it was nothing. Sara shrugged and continued to talk about Nate and Zari and how clueless they were and also how important they were to the team.

The two woman sat chatting on the couch into the evening, interrupted only when Sara’s stomach made a loud gurgling sound.

“Well, I guess that’s my cue to leave.” Ava responded. “I hope you’re not too exhausted for your big meal.”

Sara scrunched her nose up as she smiled, “This is exactly why I nap in the afternoons!”

Ava laughed, reluctantly pulling herself off the couch to pick up Gary. “See you.”

“Bye Aves.”

The morning after their cat and dog “playdate” Ava was on her daily run when she saw a medium-size dog running beside his owner before noticing her and come galloping in her direction. She paused to pet the dog and felt a discomfort and annoyance she hadn’t noticed in a while. The barks come from the dog grated on her ears and she couldn’t help but hone in on all the fur that the dog left on her black leggings. She gave a nod to the owner before continuing on. Ava kept on running, but confusion blotted her run. She had thought she was becoming a dog person, she really liked Jax. She looked forward to seeing him, and didn’t mind his barking or fur. She found herself thinking about him throughout the day sometimes and even missing him. Ava tried to think about why Jax would be different from other dogs. He wasn’t particularly quieter or less of a shedder. In fact he shedded more than the dog she had just met. He was smaller than that dog, but not significantly. Realization washed over Ava; she didn’t like Jax because he was a dog, she liked Jax because he was Sara’s dog. The single qualifier changed her view of dogs.

She felt so close to the other woman and the last thing she wanted to do was to jeopardize their close friendship by whatever stupid emotions she was feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. So many moments when something could have happened. But it is coming, never fear! We’re here, we’re queer and we never fear! Just kidding, we do all the time…  
> Hope you’re all well,  
> \- L


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some more upsetting history in this chapter, references to death. 
> 
> I’m finally on university break, so I will try to finish the story before school starts back up. Hope everyone is doing OK, staying well and safe.   
> -L

Ava had just gotten back from a long day at work, afternoon had passed well into evening as she finally entered her apartment. She had just uncharacteristically thrown her body onto her couch when her phone rang. She checked the caller ID before answering.

“What’s up Sara?”

“So… I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Uh oh, that sounds foreboding.”

“It’s not bad it just requires you to leave your apartment, and I know you don’t like to do that.”

“I don’t know if I should be offended or not. It is kind of true, so I won’t be offended.”

Sara chuckled “Glad you came to that conclusion.”

“Okay, what’s this favor you need from me.”

“So you met Bessie.”

“Who?” Ava asked, perplexed.

“Bessie, my car.”

“Ah, yes. The Subaru from the 1800s.”

“She’s not that old!” Sara exclaimed.

“Whatever, what’s up with Bessie? She die?” Ava said jokingly.

There was silence on the other end of the line, before Sara finally grudgingly replied.

“Yes. She broke down.”

Ava started laughing uncontrollable. “You just told me she’s not that old, and now you’re telling me she’s broken down” Ava managed through gasping breaths.

Sara pouted, though Ava couldn’t see her through the phone. “You think this is way funnier than it is.”

Ava still laughing replied “I think I’m finding it the exactly correct amount of funny.”

Sara huffed.

“Do you need me to pick you up? Is that why you’re calling?” Ava asked, light chuckles still spotting her speech.

Sara huffed again “Maybe.”

—

Ava pulled up to the front of a hardware store on the other side of town twenty minutes later. Sara slid into the passenger seat depositing her purchases on the ground.

“I have not forgiven you.” The smaller woman said with a mock frown.

“For what? Breaking Bessie down?”

“You gave her bad juju.” Sara muttered.

“How about I get you some fries to make up for my bad juju?”

Sara lit up at this suggestion.

“I love fries!”

“Glad I’m forgiven.”

“I didn’t say that. But fries are a good start.” Sara replied.

“Alright, I’ll take what I can get.” Ava assented.

They pulled out of a drive-through fifteen minutes later with fries in hand.

“Hey, I’m not really ready to go home.” Ava admitted, eyes trained on the road, not wanting to look at the woman in her passenger seat.

Sara held the two fries in her lap, stealing a few from Ava’s bag while the taller woman was looking away.

“Definitely, fries can’t be eaten at home” the shorter woman replied, “You know that park near the apartment you run through? Why don’t we go there?”

Ava nodded, directing the car in that direction, soon pulling into the poorly lit parking area. 

Sara handed Ava her fries after they climbed out of the car.

“Hey, I definitely have less fries than before.” Ava protested looking accusatorially at the broad smile of the smaller woman.

Sara shrugged “There’s a fee for holding fries, what can I say?”

Ava laughed. “You know I’ve never really been here, except to run, it looks a lot differentwhen you take time to look around.”

“Oh!” Sara exclaimed “I bet you’ve never seen the statue then.”

Ava shook her head. Sara grabbed Ava’s hand and pulled her down one of the paths. Ava stared at her own hand in front of her, her fingers were wound together with Sara’s and Ava could feel the woman’s cold rings, and the grease and salt from the fries on Sara’s hand against her own. Ava felt a flush settle onto her face and tried to look away, sure that Sara would be able to see her bright red cheeks in the dim light. With her head facing a different direction, she didn't noticed when Sara stopped. Ava collided into the woman in front of her, stabilizing herself on Sara’s shoulders, before quickly dropping her hands and moving to stand next to the shorter blonde.

Sara looked back up at Ava, seeming oblivious of Ava’s embarrassment. “Have you seen this before?”

It was two beautifully rendered metal panthers slinking next to each other, each piece of metal that comprised the two cats looked like it was from a different machine: a few bike gears, scrap metal, bolts, and screws.

“I thought you might like it, you like cats and even though you don’t have any art in your apartment, you seem like the kind of person who would like museums.”

Ava chuckled “What is that supposed to mean?”

Sara bumped her shoulder against Ava’s, a smirk on her face.

“The other cool thing” Sara continued, ignoring Ava’s question “is that the statue is made of completely recycled metal.”

“That is pretty cool, and yes I do enjoy museums.”

“I knew it!” Sara exclaimed. “Hey, can you hold my fries for a second?”

“Of course, but there will be a holders fee.” Ava responded grinning at Sara.

Sara shot Ava a warning look, before crossing the opening to the jungle gym behind the panther sculpture.

Sara jumped up onto the monkey bars swinging from one bar to the next, feet only an inch above the ground.

“C’mon Ava!”

Ava grabbed a few fries out of Sara’s bag, before setting them down on a bench. She walked over to join Sara.

“I’m going to be really good at this” Ava said laughing as she reached up to the monkey bars, able to grab them without lifting her feet off the ground. She walked the whole way across the monkey bars, hands swinging from bar to bar, feet still on the ground.

“That’s not how you’re supposed to do it.” Sara protested and nudged Ava out of the way jokingly.

After dropping off the monkey bars, the two woman grabbed their fries and continued wandering through the park. Sara showed Ava both her own and Jax’s favorite spots. Ava pointed at her favorite running paths and complained about how few areas nearby there were to run in.

As they finished off the fries, they moved to a bench surrounded by a few trees, tucked away and somewhat secluded from the rest of the dark park.

The sunset lit the sky in orange, sending shadows casting across Sara and Ava’s faces. The air had began to cool off and the two unconsciously shifted closer trying to maintain body heat. The park they were in was empty but they still talked softly, trying to maintain the peace of the moment. Their voices eventually faded out, leaving them sitting in a comfortable silence.

Ava looked over at Sara and notice the smaller woman looking at her too. The orange light haloed the woman’s head. Her nose and cheeks were pink from the slight evening chill. Her eyes, brightly blue, were staring at Ava. Without thinking, the taller woman leaned forward, bringing their noses a half inch from each other, as Sara’s eyes fluttered close, Ava closed the rest of the gap, pressing a light kiss on Sara’s lips. They were soft and warm and salty, residual from the fries they had consumed earlier.

Ava pulled back a little bit, about to apologize, but Sara’s mouth followed hers, reconnecting, seeking out her warmth. Sara’s lips parted slightly, deepening their kiss. Ava brought the hand that wasn’t pressed against Sara up to the other woman’s cheek, cupping her face lightly. At the physical touch from Ava’s hand, Sara’s pulled back, eyes flying open.

“Sorry, I just realized. I got something I need to do. I’ll see you around. Bye.” Sara exclaimed before jumping up and running off.

“Wait, Sara, I’m your ride!” Ava called after her a little stunned.

—

Ava hadn’t heard from Sara and she was a little worried. She had texted Sara the night before. But her messages had gone unanswered.

**Sara “the sexy neighbor” Lance**

Hey, I just want to know if you got home okay.

You just ran off into the night.

Just let me know if you’re okay.

Ava knew Sara wasn’t a morning person, but she wanted to see if the other woman had made it home the night before. She walked to Sara’s apartment and knocked lightly on the door. She waited a few moments, about to leave when the door swung upon, revealing Sara wearing the same clothes as the night before.

“Hey Sara, I wanted to check in, I just want to apologize. I shouldn’t have kissed you without checking in, but I thought…I guess I thought wrong. Anyways, I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”

“It’s not like that.” Sara gave her a broken look.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you don’t have to be sorry, I kissed you back.”

“Then why…”

Sara shook her head.

“I can’t Ava. I can’t put you in that position.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just trust me.”

“Sara, I’m an adult. I think I can make my own decisions about my life.”

Sara shook her head, bringing her hand to her face rubbing at it tiredly.

“Ava, god, I’m no good for you.”

Ava looked at Sara with concern and confusion.

Sara continued “Do you want to know the reason my sister died? The real reason my mother left and my father’s an alcoholic? Ava it was me. I’m the reason.”

“Sara I’m sure you’re…”

“I was at a party with Laurel and in a backroom making out with her boyfriend. I didn’t even really like him, I was just so sick of Laurel being the good kid. She walked in and started crying, she ran out. The next thing I remember I was getting a call from my mom. They took us to the station…there had been a car crash and she hadn’t made it.”

“Sara that’s not your fault.”

“Do want to know what else? I started dating said boyfriend after Laurel had died. I dated my dead sister’s ex-boyfriend. Do you know how fucked up that is?”

“Sara, you know I have a messed up past too.”

“But that’s not your fault Ava, you got dealt a shitty deck, homophobic parents, a fucked up system.”

“Sara please just listen to me.”

The smaller woman closed the door in Ava’s face. Ava stared at the door, not sure if she should be upset or concerned, the only thing that seemed to be clear at that moment was the feeling of a heavy weight pressing against her chest.

On the other side of that same door, Sara had slowly sunk to the floor, back pressing against the wood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE HAVE A KISS! Don’t be too mad at me folks… they’ll figure it out eventually…
> 
> And Bessie is the name of this old car I drove for work this summer. She makes these odd noises and I never know where they are coming from, and lights just pop up on the dashboard. I thought Sara’s car would be something like that. 
> 
> Also does anyone else not like fries? I don’t really enjoy them and my siblings make fun of me all the time because of it!
> 
> -L


End file.
